David Harris
The Year in Review: You Helped 20,000 Elderly Endure War in Israel, and Much More
When I look back on this year—only a few days from being over—of our Annual Campaign, I am so proud of you, our donors. You helped care for Cincinnati seniors like Alba, and helped Rosie teach her eighth graders at Summit Country Day about the Holocaust. You helped Mark find a decent, local job again, and UC college student Harley get to Israel twice.
But we have not yet reached our goal for this year. That means that there are Albas, Rosies, Harleys, and Marks in Cincinnati who we frankly cannot—yet—help in 2016.
It’s easy to see how much your dollars matter locally—you likely know someone who is helped, and can see the community building the Federation does every day.
But, in accord with our values, it is important that we continue to help in Israel and abroad. So as this campaign draws to a close I want to show you just how much your dollars helped in Israel and overseas this past year.
When Israel was under attack this past summer, your support provided relief for 80,000 children living closest to the line of fire to spend a day away, aid for 20,000 elderly and disabled, trauma support for 15,000 Israelis, and NGO funding in 22 front-line cities. Among many other Israeli programs, you support at-risk Israeli youth in Susan’s House learn life skills, helping student dropouts in Learning Through Internship find their passion for learning, and helping ultra-0rthodox women in Movilot to become empowered and find employment. You also help with innovative pilot programs such as Parents and Children Together (PACT).
You helped in Ukraine: Raisa Libenson’s apartment sustained a direct hit from a mortar shell, rendering the 78-year-old temporarily deaf, and she and her husband had to leave. They received help from one of the 32 Hesed social welfare centers serving Jews in need in more than 1,000 locations across Ukraine. Help with food, shelter, and heat during the winter was stepped up significantly in this war-torn region.
You helped in Nepal: Sam Amiel, a senior member of JDC (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee)’s disaster response team, helped the people of Bhumlichowk, who had been cut off from aid for more than a week, with aid that so far has included 500 tarps to protect the newly homeless, 1,000 kilos of rice and other food supplies, and 500 hygiene kits. Amiel said, “I saw wide-scale destruction. We visited six villages where more than 90 percent of homes were affected, destroyed and uninhabitable. [During today’s visit], we brought our condolences, visited with each family to understand how they are surviving, and delivered critically needed aid.”
You helped in France: With antisemitism on the rise in Europe, and especially in France, which has the largest Jewish diaspora outside the US, your dollars were vital. The international Jewish community immediately supported France in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. Our CEO, Shep Englander, has shared his experience of meeting with Sophie, a survivor of the attack on the kosher Hyper Cacher supermarket in Paris, where four hostages were killed.
While your dollars are crucial in emergencies and humanitarian crises, their ongoing work in supporting Jewish identity globally is invaluable. I’m just going to give one narrow example, but know that your support is worldwide: In France itself, in 2014, over 7,230 French Jews made Aliyah to Israel. From France in 2014, 3,000 have gone on short-term trips, 1,400 have gone on Taglit-Birthright trips, 100 are going in summer 2015 on Onward Israel, and more than 1,300 are going on the Masa Israel Journey.
So as I look back on our year, I need to say thank you for all that you do. And there is so much more than what I’ve listed here, you truly provide a resilient web that supports our community at home, in Israel, and around the world.
Please, if you can possibly give more, or give for the first time, please do so right now. The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati is matching any new dollars three for one, but only until May 31. Can you help us not leave those dollars on the floor, by contributing before May 31? If we meet our targets we can help so much more, in Cincinnati, and in Israel and overseas. Please go here to give, or contact Debra Miller at 513-985-1508. And please tell a friend about all your dollars do, and our deadline, today.
