Response to Israel at war 

Between October and December of 2023, The Russell Berrie Foundation issued nearly $2 million in grants to meet Israelis’ immediate emergency needs in the wake of the October 7th massacre and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Those investments are listed below.

Going forward, we will continue to make investments through our longstanding Israel portfolio, recognizing that October 7th and the war changes how the Foundation approaches this work. Grants that support the long-term rebuilding and revitalization of Israel will align with our existing program strategies.

Humanitarian aid and procurement and delivery of supplies 

Berl Katznelson Center – $50,000 to engage in advocacy on behalf of victims of terror. 

Brothers and Sisters for Israel – $100,000 to meet critical humanitarian and logistical needs  

Hamaniot – $100,000 to open four new operating centers in the south of Israel to serve the needs of children who have lost one or both parents.  

Jerusalem Civilian Command Center – $25,000 to provide humanitarian aid in Jerusalem through the Command Center, a coalition of seven civil society organizations and NGOs that formed on the afternoon of October 7 to meet urgent civilian and military needs. 

Jerusalem Foundation – $25,000 to provide East Jerusalem residents with food baskets, needed medications, and transportation. 

Tzedek Centers – $50,000 to help evacuees of kibbutz communities by providing educational and emotional support to children and youth, respite for parents, and response to basic needs.  

The Fourth Quarter – $100,000 to provide humanitarian assistance and build civic resilience.  

Yashar LaChayal – $35,000 to provide humanitarian support to Israeli soldiers.

Preparedness in the Galil 

Galila – $150,000 to provide Municipal Emergency Teams across the Galilee region with resources and equipment, and to assist regional municipal clusters in managing the influx of refugees and emergency needs. 

American Friends of the Israel Association of Community Centers – $200,000 to support the preservation and resilience of displaced communities and to strengthen preparedness in the Galil. 

De-escalation of Jewish-Arab tensions 

aChord – $50,000 to expand its emergency response capacity to help organizations constructively address conflicts between Arab and Jewish employees. 

Jerusalem Foundation – $25,000 to compile data and on-the-ground needs of people living in East Jerusalem to inform policy makers. 

Jerusalem Intercultural Center – $30,000 to boost community preparedness in Jerusalem with a focus on de-escalating tensions among Jews and Arabs. 

Tzedek Centers – $125,000 to de-escalate tensions between Arab and Jewish communities in Israel by fostering solidarity and partnerships and supporting a collaborative initiative that is helping mayors of cities with mixed populations. 

Mobilization of Haredim 

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc. – $30,000 to promote quality employment among the Haredi population by training employers and recruiting Haredim for positions in manufacturing of essential goods. 

Trauma counseling and medical and emergency emotional support 

American Friends of NATAL, Inc. – $50,000 to support NATAL’s efforts to recruit and train Helpline volunteers to provide psychological and emotional support to Israelis and emergency psychological assistance to evacuees, organizations, and the public. 

American Friends of Soroka Medical Center – $10,000 to enable Soroka Medical Center, the only Level 1 trauma center in the south of Israel, to secure additional life-saving equipment to treat the more than 920 wounded victims receiving care at the hospital since the terrorist attacks were launched.  

Israeli Friends of the University of Haifa – $50,000 to interrupt the cycle of trauma and prevent post-traumatic stress disorder among survivors of the massacre at the Nova festival near Gaza. 

Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey – $100,000 to support the work of the Israel Trauma Coalition, with half of that total dedicated to support humanitarian efforts in Nahariya, the Federation’s sister city close to the Lebanon border. 

The MSR-Azrieli Medical Simulation Center at Sheba Medical Center – $150,000 to engage MSR on Wheels in field simulation training of the IDF medical corps. 

Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey – $100,000 to Western Galilee Medical Center  

Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey – $50,000 to support the Municipality of Nahariya in emergency preparedness efforts. 

Telem – $25,000 to provide Hibuki therapy and related support to alleviate anxiety and distress among children who have experienced trauma.

Humanitarian and emotional support for the Bedouin society in the Negev  

AJEEC-NISPED – $50,000 to serve as a leading partner in running a shared emergency center that will map the needs of and resources available to people living in unrecognized Bedouin villages and coordinate emergency response efforts. 

Yanabia – $25,000 to provide mobile safe shelters that can help protect residents of Bedouin local authorities from rocket attacks. 

Support for displaced Israelis in the U.S.

Kaplen JCC on the Palisades – $50,000 to provide youth programming to children and essential services to families from Israel who relocated to Northern New Jersey due to the war.

Solomon Schecter Day School of Bergen County – $50,000 to absorb, educate, and provide services to Israeli students who have relocated to Northern New Jersey.

Other 

Jewish Funders Network – $25,000 to help establish Israel Rises, a multi-sector, joint digital platform that will compile and coordinate needs as they arise from the Home Front Command Civil Center and channel resources accordingly.  

Nova – $50,000 to provide free technical assistance and tools to help municipalities across Israel collect and analyze data that can inform decision-making and more effective response to the crisis.

United Jewish Appeal Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc. – $50,000 to help transport to Israel a group of Israeli Special Forces called up for reserve duty. 

The Public Knowledge Workshop – $15,000 to develop a unified database of public shelter locations and tools for municipal data management of displaced people.