Dear friends,
As we head into Pesach, the holiday feels especially weighted this year. The seder opens with an invitation — “כָּל דִּכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכוּל”, let all who are hungry come and eat. It is easy to read that as ritual. This year, it feels like a call to action. We are living through a moment that demands we not look away to the needs around us, and I am grateful to be part of a community that hasn't.
Against the backdrop of the war, the needs have been everywhere. We have mobilized over 500 volunteers in projects throughout the country in collaboration with Masa Israel Journey and have had groups volunteer in all of our 4 hubs.
Tomorrow evening, as Pesach begins, we will close our emergency campaign. I wanted to reach out to thank this amazing community for all your support, and to share what we have been able to do with the funds we raised together.
We launched our emergency campaign with a goal of $20,000 — and the Yahel community and so many others came together to help us raise over $43,000. Here is what those donations have powered so far:
Together with Drori and Mahmoud from Kulna — an organization that brings Arabs and Jews together across East and West Jerusalem — we distributed 100 food packages to families ahead of Eid al-Fitr and Pesach, reaching communities on both sides of the city. In Haifa, we coordinated with the local welfare office to send packages to an emergency center serving people in acute need. In Ramat Eliyahu, Rishon LeZion, we reached 50 welfare families with food packages and provided 18 tablets to children from welfare families. And today, we packed and sent over 100 food packages to evacuees from Dimona.
We remain in close touch with our grassroots partners, listening to where the needs are and how best to meet them. Our volunteering hub infrastructure has proven, again, its ability to meet the needs of the moment — and for that, and for this community, I am deeply thankful.
If you'd like to contribute or share before we close tomorrow evening:
