Israel Emergency Campaign Impact Report

Thank you for being there for our Israeli family in their time of greatest need.

Every dark day since October 7, our Jewish Cleveland community has been standing up to unfathomable hate by delivering immediate help and hope for our Israeli family – for all those whose lives were lost and all those whose lives will never be the same.

Together, we channeled our horror, grief, despair, and rage into action. We gathered in the thousands to stand in solidarity with Israel hours after the attacks. We lifted up the voices and stories of massacre survivors and innocent hostages held in Gaza for all to hear by praying in vigils, displaying lawn signs in our yards, lobbying for and erecting a large public art installation, hanging posters, and having tough conversations in-person and online. We welcomed displaced Israeli families to Cleveland and helped them get settled into life in Northeast Ohio. We traveled by the thousands through the night to Washington, DC, to join the largest-ever gathering of Jews in US history at the March for Israel. We continue to give our hearts, voices, time, and resources to do everything we can to let Israelis know they are not alone.

Our Collective Response

Jewish Cleveland has stood proudly with the modern state of Israel since its founding in 1948. Over the years, we have worked closely with our international partners at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) to provide a wide range of humanitarian support for the people of Israel in times of peace and war. This enduring commitment allows us to respond immediately when lives are at stake.

Driven by $15 million in matching grant funds from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, the velocity and generosity of support for our community’s Israel Emergency Campaign has been astounding. Together, we have raised and distributed more than $33.7 million from 3,645 gifts – and counting. One hundred percent of every dollar goes directly to support lifeline services, medical and trauma relief, economic relief and recovery, and community resilience and rebuilding.

In the impact report prepared by our partners at the Jewish Federations of North America, you will see how your gift continues to make a difference to hundreds of thousands of Israelis living a nightmare. Your support is part of the more than $768.5 million our North American Jewish community raised to respond to every need of every Israeli, from food and education for displaced children to medical attention and trauma therapy for rape victims to companionship and care for seniors.

How You Gave Comfort, Strength, And Hope

Your gift comforted people like Gideon, who we met on a solidary mission in November. He shared the story of Tamar Gutman, his sister-in-law. She was 27 years old and had complications from Crohn’s disease. Four of her friends are also missing. She was loving and caring to others and was loved by her friends and family. The day after we met him, the family contacted our group to share that Tamar was confirmed dead by intelligence, and the family was now sitting shiva. There was no body to bury.

Your gift gave strength to people like Osnat, who shared the story of her Aunt Ruti and Uncle Avraham, both in their late 70s who were kidnapped along with their daughter Karen and Karen’s son Ohad. They were stolen from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Ohad turned nine years old just a few days later in Gaza under captivity. Ruti and Avraham don’t yet know that their other child – their son – was murdered on October 7. Karen is a talented teacher who works with special needs students. And Ohad is a child who is loved by all.

Your gift gave hope to survivors from Kibbutz Be’eri, where dozens of people were taken hostage and more than 100 were murdered. They became refugees in their own country, housed in a hotel by the Dead Sea where they arrived with nothing. Your support enabled aid workers to distribute donated clothes and transformed restaurants and tents into kindergartens. They use a stuffed therapy dog with a sad face and long arms for giving hugs to help children talk and process their deep trauma.

These are just a few examples of the thousands of ways you made a tangible, meaningful difference – one that will be remembered as a source of comfort and strength for years to come. During the worst days of their lives, your generosity sent a message to Israelis – you are not alone, your global Jewish family is with you, Jewish Cleveland is by your side.

Looking To The Future

As our efforts move from the stage of acute emergency response to focus on ongoing needs, we are concentrating more creatively on providing economic tools to help struggling families, communities, and businesses recover financially. Along with this, we will help enable thousands of people to return to their homes and rebuild their communities, while supporting communal resilience and hope for creating brighter days ahead.

We are honored to begin a new partnership with another community in Israel. As with its neighbors near the Gaza border in the south of the country, Kibbutz Kissufim has been devastated by the terrorist attacks on October 7 and the prolonged displacement in the months that followed. Drawing upon everything we have learned over the years through our relationship with our sister city Beit Shean, we are working with the leadership and members of the kibbutz to see how our support can help them address their evolving needs.

Your Impact Is Immeasurable

You have helped turn horror and heartbreak into hope and resilience.

Thank you for being part of our Jewish Cleveland community and our global Jewish family. In our darkest days, our community shows up with unbreakable strength and determination.

We are so grateful to you for not hesitating to step up by volunteering, giving, and engaging deeply with every effort to stand up for what is right and be a voice for those the world wants to forget. None of what has been accomplished already would have been possible without you. Likewise, none of what still needs to be done can happen without you. It will take all of us to continue overcoming this terror.

May the memories of those murdered by terrorists be for a blessing that inspires us to act. Am Yisrael Chai.