How a South Jersey Philanthropist is Stepping Up for the South of Israel
Betsy Fischer, Chair of JNF-USA’s Rebuild the Envelope Task Force, along with her husband, Peter, recently donated $1 million to fund enhanced recreation facilities in Sha’ar HaNegev
Immediately after the October 7 attacks, Jewish National Fund-USA sprang into action by helping tens of thousands of Israelis evacuate from the Eshkol and Sha’ar HaNegev regions as well as from the city of Sderot, an area collectively referred to as the Israel Envelope (formerly known as the Gaza Envelope).
“We knew them, and they knew us,” Jewish National Fund-USA CEO Russell Robinson said of the evacuees in the South. “But why? Because of Betsy Fischer.”
Fischer, Chair of Jewish National Fund-USA’s Rebuild the Envelope Task Force, recently made a $1 million donation along with her husband Peter Fischer to accelerate the organization’s efforts to rebuild southern Israel following the Hamas massacre. The family’s gift will fund enhanced recreation facilities in Sha’ar HaNegev, most notably a new regional sports complex that will be home to large events which bolster the community in these dark times by offering an uplifting place that everyone can take pride in.
“This is an area for resilience and healing,” Fischer explained, “Which are more important to the community there than ever before.”
More broadly, Jewish National Fund-USA is leading rehabilitation efforts through its “Build Together,” initiative to rebuild the Gaza-border communities that were decimated by the Hamas attacks while also rehabilitating the north through its “Reimagine Plan.”
But how exactly did Betsy Fischer, a philanthropist from Southern New Jersey, come to embrace her role at the forefront of such a bold and massive undertaking?
According to Robinson, she arrived at his office nine years ago, having just completed her term as Jewish National Fund-USA’s board president for the South Jersey region. She sat down and declared, “I want to do something to make a difference.”
In that very meeting, Robinson informed her of the need to build a task force, which would entail visiting the Israel Envelope, studying the needs there, making recommendations, and fundraising to fill the needs.
“Anyone else would have turned away and run,” recalled Robinson, and yet Fischer was on the ground within a week.
He added, “She puts in her money, she puts in her heart, she puts in her advocacy, her career, her emotion. To be emotionally and strategically involved and engaged…That’s leadership.”
The task force formed by Fischer began in Sderot, which is surrounded by Sha’ar HaNegev, before expanding to Eshkol in 2016. Today, in the post-October 7 world, its new mission is to rebuild and revitalize the entire Western Negev.
“We joke that when a person sneezes in Eshkol, someone in our task force says, ‘G-d bless you,’” Fischer quipped.
She became involved with Jewish National Fund-USA through her husband, who held the role of Southern New Jersey board president before her. She hosted a dance party at the indoor bomb-proof playground in Sderot, which she called “one of the best day of my life” alongside the days she married her husband and gave birth to her kids.
Her enthusiasm for the GrooveTech concept derived from her ownership of a business called Betsy Fischer’s Groove Lounge, a dance and night club for kids in Voorhees, N.J. The Groove Lounge inspired Jewish National Fund-USA’s Eshkol-based GrooveTech, a state-of-the-art safe indoor multi-media and innovative learning center that provides a welcoming space where kids can thrive during the day and after school hours. The center’s two stories house virtual reality rooms, a planetarium, science and robotics spaces, art workshops, a vertical farm, a master chef kitchen, and general social and gathering spots.
The GrooveTech hasn’t been her only innovative philanthropic initiative. Recently, she heard the story of a woman from the U.S. was bringing jewelry to those affected by the October 7 attacks in order to do something tangible to help. Fischer thought, “I could so do that.” She proceeded to work with Shosh Mitzman who leads MAKOM – a Jewish National Fund-USA-supported program that creates grassroots community-building organizations in hundreds of towns across Israel. Mitzman helped Fischer distribute approximately 100 pounds of jewelry to traumatized women, wives of reserve soldiers, evacuees, and former hostages and their families.
With various non-profit organizations stepping up for Israel in this moment, why does Fischer channel her philanthropic energy through Jewish National Fund-USA? She said the organization sets itself apart by “allowing donors to be extremely hands-on in supporting Israel.”
“From conception to construction to completion, we’re there,” she said, noting that her Task Force members have had the opportunity to hang mezuzahs on the doors of several facilities built by the efforts of her task force.
Today, Robinson largely credits Jewish National Fund-USA’s impact in the South to individuals like Fischer “who spend time not just giving away their money but really investing the time and effort with people there and building relationships.”
“On October 6, we were talking about the divide in Israel. On October 7, the whole Jewish world was shaken,” he said. “But I have always felt the optimism of tomorrow because of the Betsy Fischers — because of the people who are doing something.”
Jewish National Fund-USA’s ability to spearhead the rebuilding effort in Israel’s North and South is rooted in the local community’s trust in the organization, in no small part due to the groundwork laid by Fischer, said Robinson.
“We can’t take away pain,” he said, “but you need to believe in tomorrow. We give them reassurance that they’re not alone and there is a tomorrow, and we’re with them yesterday and today, and we’ll be with them tomorrow.”
To support rebuilding efforts in Israel’s north and south, visit jnf.org/supportisrael. For more information about Jewish National Fund-USA’s Task Forces, visit jnf.org/taskforces. An abridged version of this story appears in the latest edition of B’Yachad magazine.