On a bright autumn afternoon, after a day of painting, Sergio Kopeliovich looked at the giant mural taking shape on the wall of the arts center at the Eshkol Regional Council complex in southern Israel and said that it was one of the most significant things he has done in his life.
A Jewish artist from Mexico City who creates large works with public participation in different parts of the world, Kopeliovich is spending a week on the piece, which depicts the region’s iconic wildflower, the red anemone, its sandy fields, doves of peace, butterflies typical of Mexico, dancers, musical instruments, and more.
Kopeliovich first visited Israel two years ago and was struck by the peace and beauty of the Eshkol region.
The mural, he said, reflected that serene pre-October 7 reality.
Every day, different groups of residents come to help paint. “They tell me how therapeutic it is,” he said.
The mural commission symbolizes a nearly 20-year partnership between Keren Hayesod Mexico and the Eshkol Regional Council, as well as the extraordinary solidarity with Israel of the Jewish Diaspora since October 7 last year.
Many of the Eshkol area’s residents were affected by the Hamas terror group’s invasion of Gaza border communities on that date, which saw the murder of 1,200 mainly civilians and the abduction of over 250.
A recent survey by CCS Fundraising reported in eJewishPhilanthropy reflects the uptick in giving.
The poll of 73 organizations across the US with operating budgets ranging from under $1 million to more than $500 million was carried out between May 20 and June 10, and focused on giving patterns from October 2023 to May 2024.
It revealed that some 37 percent of organizations saw new donors after October 7, while 27% received bigger donations from existing ones, with 56% reporting the greatest increases in the three months after October 7.
A dizzying number of organizations
The volume of donations coming to Israel from the US and the rest of the world is dizzying, as are the number of organizations involved in the rehabilitation of the Gaza border communities, as well as those on the Lebanese border, under constant attack by the Hezbollah organization, until the recent ceasefire.
While there are large private foundations contributing, much of the big money comes from the so-called founding national institutions created after the first Zionist Congress in 1897 to prepare for a Jewish state — the Jewish Agency for Israel (to bring immigrants and run educational and social services), the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (to buy and develop land), and Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal (to raise money).
All still exist and cooperate on different levels. For example, the Jewish Federations of North America/United Israel Appeal and Keren Hayesod (which works in 40 countries outside the US) help fund the Jewish Agency while also directly supporting long lists of NGOs in Israel.
KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund implements projects with funds from its overseas branches, but these — particularly the large JNF USA — also undertake projects independently.
In the immediate aftermath of October 7, donors focused on emergency help. The Jewish Agency has already distributed $19 million from its Fund for Victims of Terror to support 11,500 families. The project distributes immediate grants within 24 to 48 hours of a direct attack and supports short- and long-term needs.
It also supported local authorities, provided hundreds of thousands of meals to evacuees, and distributed over $5 million in grants and over $52 million in interest-free loans to small businesses in border communities in the north and south.
The Agency’s 30-year-old Partnership2Gether program, which connects Israeli and global cities and regions, meant that overseas groups and specific Israeli communities, such as Mexico and the Eshkol Regional Council, already enjoyed mature relationships.
As part of a post-October 7 initiative, Communities2Gether, 18 Jewish communities in North America and Canada have pledged to raise $750,000 over three years for an additional 25 communities affected by the current war for three years. The Jewish Federations of North America will take 15 and Keren Hayesod ten.
In Moshav Ein Habesor, for example, Keren Hayesod will fund an accessible music room with rehearsal space, a recording studio, and a place for therapeutic music classes. It will underwrite emotional therapy in the village of Shlomit to complement the support available at the area’s overloaded Resilience Center.
The UK’s UJIA, which split from Keren Hayesod many years ago and operates independently, will support Kibbutz Mefalsim through Communities2Gether, focusing on mental health support, scholarships, and renovation of the center for young adults.
With Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities worst affected by the Hamas invasion, the UJIA is working directly to rebuild the education complex. That will include three new kindergartens, an open area for sports, and an afterschool activity center for primary school and bnei-mitzvah children.
Keren Hayesod’s CEO, Edna Weinstock-Gabay, told The Times of Israel that Keren Hayesod is also raising funds for two Jewish Agency youth programs.
“We understood that the main sufferers are the youth who had to endure the Corona epidemic and now October 7,” Weinstock-Gabay said. “Many were evacuated to hotels without an organized framework. There’s been a rise in alcohol and drug use, even prostitution.”
Since October 7, Keren Hayesod has raised $153 million. Of this, $46 million went to the Jewish Agency, $21 million to hospitals and for first aid, and $8.4 million to support municipalities.
Meanwhile, the Jewish Federations of North America have raised some $855 million, allocating $87 million to the Jewish Agency, and $84 million to NGOs and dozens of communities through the Jewish Agency’s Partnership2Gether program.
More than $13 million will go to ReGrow, a fund set up after October 7 to help Western Negev farmers. Nearly $9 million is destined for the Israel Trauma Coalition, established over 20 years ago by the UJA Federation of New York, while over $8 million will go to Brothers and Sisters for Israel (spawned by the protest movement Brothers in Arms). More than $7 million is earmarked for Magen David Adom.
The Federations have also channeled money to the JDC — the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Known simply as “The Joint,” the organization works in Israel and overseas to support vulnerable Jewish communities.
Before the war, JDC social services were helping a million Israelis every week. After October 7, another 450,000 of the hardest-hit Israelis were added, according to the organization’s data.
Since October 7, the Joint has raised $77 million. Its primary focus is helping the millions of Israelis who continue to face displacement, trauma, and unemployment, as well as the challenges faced by frontline communities in the north and south. More specifically, it supports the elderly and those with disabilities, helps jobless Israelis rejoin the workforce and restart their lives, and assists northern municipalities in strengthening social services.
The iconic blue coin boxes of KKL-JNF (Jewish National Fund) are known for raising funds to plant trees across Israel. Now rebranding as an environmental organization, KKL-JNF has invested over $26 million in relief projects connected to October 7, funded by its global branches.
For instance, KKL Australia has supported communities along the Gaza border by funding local authorities, providing temporary housing for Kibbutz Kfar Aza residents, and renovating community spaces in Kibbutz Sufa and Yad Mordechai. KKL UK and KKL Australia together are aiding survivors of the Nova festival near Kibbutz Reim, during which over 360 revelers were slaughtered. Meanwhile, KKL UK has helped northern communities repair buildings damaged by Hezbollah activity.
Among other branches, KKL Germany is refurbishing kindergartens near Gaza and funding psychological support for residents of Moshav Netiv Haasara. KKL France has purchased ambulances and bomb shelters for northern Israel, while KKL Sweden is assisting Kibbutz Nir Oz in replacing agricultural equipment looted during the attacks.
JNF-USA will partner with KKL-Israel on a raft of projects yet to be chosen jointly, with each organization committing to raise $25 million.
However, most of JNF USA’s work is done independently of the Jerusalem office. The former has raised $107 million to help rebuild communities in the north and south, $13.1 million to help 30,000 evacuees from the Gaza border area, over $7 million for the National Fire and Rescue Authority, $3 million to support 300 seriously injured soldiers and civilians with medical treatment and rehabilitation, and more.
Too many cooks in the kitchen?
The Jewish world is awash with organizations. In addition to those legacy organizations described above are private foundations of all sizes, corporations, individual donors, and US-based Friends associations (which provide tax breaks for donors) for institutions such as the rescue and emergency service, Magen David Adom, universities, and hospitals.
The P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, which provides tax breaks for US donations to Israeli NGOs that cannot, has seen gifts of $330 million over the past year, up from $195 million the previous year, because of the war.
A slew of organizations established since October 7 are crowdfunding through online sites such as JGive, complicating the picture further.
It is nearly impossible to estimate the total amount raised, but, as of April, the Diaspora Ministry suggested that more than $1.4 billion had been donated since October 7.
Furthermore, it is hard to imagine how so many moving parts can work together, without duplication, to meet the pressing needs; to coordinate their giving with so many stakeholders in Israel, ranging from the communities themselves and the local and regional authorities to government ministries, state corporations, private business, academia, and all those NGOs.
The foundational institutions described above told The Times of Israel that they were coordinating their activities as much as possible.
Jewish Agency CEO Yehuda Setton said, “Each organization does something slightly different. I don’t think we tread on each other’s toes, and if one organization did everything, it wouldn’t do it as well.”
The government’s role
Shortly after the horrors of October 7, the government established the Tekuma Directorate. It allocated NIS 19 billion over five years (although NIS 5 billion is currently frozen).
The role of Naomi Re’em Tarshish, employed by the Tekuma Directorate in May as senior head of Cross-Sectional Partnerships, is to conduct the massive orchestra of organizations in Israel and overseas on behalf of the state.
With a CV rich in management positions, Re’em Tarshish started by mapping who had contributed what and who the potential partners were, from local communities, local government, businesses, NGOs, social impact companies, and government ministries and corporations to overseas philanthropic organizations and individual donors. “The list grows all the time,” she said.
“There’s no other governmental body or ministry that has a specific role of partnering across the sectors,” Re’em Tarshish told the Times of Israel.
In regular contact with the Tekuma belt communities and their needs, and with organizations ranging from the biggest donors and organizations to a small group of Dutch Christian volunteers, she sends out fortnightly letters to the donor database and is sometimes surprised by the response.
“In one community, the cowsheds needed to be moved to make way for a new neighborhood,” she recalled. “I was contacted by someone interested in modernizing cowsheds.”
As an example of cooperation, she cites a program to help young children with trauma and their parents that was piloted in hotels hosting Gaza border evacuees. Plans are to turn this into a service available in kindergartens and in mobile form, thanks to a partnership between the Rashi Foundation, which will run it, the JFNA (including the Toronto Federation, which has long links with the city of Sderot), and the Shashua and Beracha Foundations. The Tekuma Directorate is connected with the Health Ministry and provides matching funds.
Following a series of meetings on Zoom and several joint projects, Re’em Tarshish was in the final stages of planning a face-to-face meeting in Israel between Jewish Federation heads and all eight heads of the Tekuma Directorate’s community directorate, which spans health, education, and social and community projects. The aim: to plan 2025.
Re’em Tarshish said the government could contribute funds to Tekuma to make a project bigger or better and or even to meet the pressing needs of communities immediately beyond the Tekuma boundary, which is set 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the Gaza border.
It was important to support all communities in need, she went on, including those that attracted less attention, had weaker leadership, and suffered damage that was less visible to donors.
The Jewish Agency’s Yehuda Setton said his organization was focusing on the big “anchor” projects that would help the Tekuma region recover and flourish anew, giving the residents and local authorities the lead, building trust with them, and enabling Diaspora Jews to feel connected with Israel.
“I don’t think you can micromanage the donations. It’s part of allowing people to feel they’re doing something important and being part of the rebuilding effort. We’re in a fluid situation, still at war, and the dynamics constantly change,” said Setton.
“There’s lots of good stuff happening outside of the big organizations. There are plenty of talented people, here and overseas, with their hearts in the right place working for hope,” he said. “I see the commitment. We need people who are involved for the long term.”
