“When There Is an Opportunity to Help, You Help”

At first, the events of October 7th were so unbelievably devastating that most Israelis were simply paralyzed by shock. Then, after a few days, hundreds of grassroots initiatives popped up, in an ad hoc, frenzied attempt to meet the massive needs created by the catastrophe. One organization, however, was able to provide large-scale support quickly, precisely, and efficiently: The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Thanks to its years of experience in the field and long-standing collaborations with key entities throughout Israel – including regional councils, security forces, government agencies and NGOs – the Fellowship was able to immediately mobilize and deliver essential supplies to hundreds of thousands of people.

“Since we are agile and quick, we acted in a focused, strategic way. We immediately began working with everyone on the ground. Whatever they needed, we could supply within 24 hours,” recalls Yael Eckstein, the Fellowship’s President and CEO, who has been working around the clock since that fateful day.

Largest philanthropic organization in Israel

The Fellowship is a remarkable philanthropic enterprise founded in 1983 by Yael’s father, the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. Thanks to the generous support of millions of donors from all over the world, most of whom aren’t Jewish, the Fellowship is proudly marking its 40th anniversary as the largest and most impactful philanthropic organization in Israel. “Our Christian friends stand with Israel. In these times of growing antisemitism, the message they are sending the people of Israel through their support is simple and powerful: ‘you are not alone,’” Yael Eckstein explains.

The Fellowship’s activities focus on three main pillars: fighting poverty in Israel and among Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union (FSU); facilitating Aliyah, especially from the FSU and Ethiopia; and providing security to Israel’s home front and to Jewish institutions around the world. The third pillar, security, was added following the 2nd Lebanon War of 2006. “My father realized that Israel’s home front was not prepared for war. Since 2006, we have been investing heavily in the home front’s security infrastructure and have worked with every town along the Gaza and Lebanon borders,” Yael Eckstein notes.

As a result of the Fellowship’s ability to implement emergency programs in the field in record time without bureaucracy, many local municipalities and regional councils, as well as the IDF’s Home Front Command, turned to the organization for help already on October 7th. “They know that we get things done and that we work without bureaucracy. During those first few days, we immediately provided whatever they said they needed, without a budget,” Eckstein recalls. This included supplying food and water to 500 people stranded in Sderot when the city was still under siege; setting up a facility with a resting area and refreshments near the site where the victims’ bodies were being identified, for the benefit of the staff and the victims’ families; providing 1,000 ceramic bullet-proof vests to first responders in the danger zone; helping with the evacuation process of communities attacked by Hamas; and much more.

Equipping first responders and evacuees

During that initial stage, the needs were extremely diverse, widespread and urgent. The Fellowship focused its activities on helping evacuees and first responders, as well as weaker populations such as the elderly, the disabled and olim. In addition, the Fellowship also boosted national organizations with which it already had a strong relationship, including Leket Israel, Latet, Hatzalah and Magen David Adom.

In fact, during those first two critical weeks, the Fellowship implemented close to 80 separate projects, and created new programs where there was a void that wasn’t being addressed. One new initiative involved equipping volunteer first response teams in communities near Gaza and in northern Israel. These teams of civilians, who are tasked with defending their towns and cities, lacked basic protection and equipment. The Fellowship lost no time in distributing over 4,000 critically needed flak jackets, 2,000 helmets and 500 first-aid kits. “Every city received 12 bullet-proof vests, 12 bullet-proof helmets and first-responder medical kits. We’ve already done this in hundreds of cities and are planning to distribute this equipment in 150 more cities within the next week,” says Eckstein.

Another important new initiative was based on the Fellowship’s flagship program Kupat Yedidut, which, since the year 2000, has been doubling the welfare budget for every city in Israel. The idea is for social workers to distribute one-time emergency aid to people they identify as being in need. For example, the funds can be used to buy a new refrigerator for a single mother whose old one broke and who can’t otherwise afford a new fridge. “After October 7th, we saw that the 200,000 evacuees were a very heavy burden on the welfare systems of the cities where they relocated, and so we created an Emergency Fund which the municipal social workers could distribute to the evacuees.” The Israeli government followed the Fellowship’s lead and agreed to contribute half of the project’s NIS 20M budget.

As much help as possible

Every day, the Fellowship approves new projects, having agreed to an emergency budget of $20M until the end of 2023. The staff is in continuous contact with all the major aid and security organizations and with official authorities throughout Israel, and is ready to provide as much help as possible when a new need emerges from the field. These include such urgent needs as food, clothing and toys, as well as basic equipment for first responders and others.

The transformative projects that the Fellowship has implemented since October 7th include the distribution of the following emergency funds: NIS 17.5M in cooperation with Eshel Chabad for 3,500 families evacuated from border communities (NIS 5,000 per family); NIS 2M for the families of soldiers wounded during the war (NIS 5,000 per family); NIS 4M in a joint venture with the Israel Lottery Commission to regional councils near the Gaza Strip for food, medicine and other essential needs; NIS 1.3M to pay the electric bills of around 800 families who were evacuated from their homes; and NIS 1.5M to NATAL, an NGO that treats victims of war- and terror-related trauma.

In addition, the Fellowship distributed more than 86,000 food packages to evacuees and elderly people, in partnership with local authorities and the NGOs Leket Israel, Latet and Pitchon Lev; and thousands of games and toys to children and families in southern communities.

Since the beginning of the current war, the Fellowship also delivered two fortified vehicles to the cities of Sderot and Ashkelon, on top of the four others that were delivered to other southern cities in recent years; and installed 30 new public shelters in northern Israel, thereby doubling the number of shelters the Fellowship deployed in that region in the last few months. The Fellowship also owns several vans that have been driving all over Israel in the last few weeks, visiting army outposts and distributing snacks and beverages to soldiers.

“Israel is experiencing one of the biggest catastrophes ever. It has affected everyone and has left many thousands of Israelis without a roof over their heads, without reliable food supplies, without money and without a sense of security,” laments Eckstein. “As soon as the war broke out, we dedicated ourselves to helping Israel’s citizens in every way possible. The Fellowship will continue being a key provider of assistance, able to act quickly and efficiently during emergencies in collaboration with the authorities, security and rescue forces, and the food distribution organizations. I hope the war will end quickly so that all those who have been affected can start rebuilding their lives. We will continue to do everything we can to help them.”

For more information about the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, click here.

partnered with The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews