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CEASE FIRE ANNOUNCED:
EFFECTIVE 9PM (2PM EST)
WHETHER THE CEASE FIRE HOLDS OR NOT,
YOUR ACTIVISM IS STILL NEEDED!
Over the up-coming Thanksgiving holiday, we are of course hopeful that the current cease fire agreement holds. But as we hear alert sirens going off in the background during the cease fire announcement, we are reminded that conditions in the middle east are rarely predictable. We must continue to be vigilant over the long weekend should events shift dramatically and our support is needed to an even greater extent. And there are still action items we can be involved with regardless of the changing situation on the ground. - Thank your Representatives and Senators for their unprecedented and bi-partisan support of Israel during this most recent crisis.
- Continue to Monitor the News for Media Bias against Israel and respond with ...
- Letters to the Editors or Op-Eds clarifying Israel's right to defend herself using ...
- Talking Points and Sample Language we can provide.
- Show your Support for Israel using Social Media.
- Support the Jewish Federations of North America Victims of Terror Fund
Resources and links for all these Action Items can be found on our Federation Israel Advocacy Web Page including links to the Victims of Terror Fund.
Please remember, one of the main issues at the heart of this recent escalation is the constant barrage of rockets into southern Israel that has never stopped - even after Operation Cast Lead in 2009. Since then, thousands of rockets have been launched into Israel and Operation Pillar of Defense was meant to try and end this unacceptable targeting of civilians once and for all. Our support, both financial and political is still sorely needed. We must maintain the strong relationship between Israel and the United States through political means and help our brothers and sisters in Israel re-build from this latest barrage of rockets.
As members of the recent Jewish Federations Solidarity Mission have witnessed first hand, this situation is simply not tolerable. "Being in the South now and experiencing what our family in Israel is experiencing, has given me some understanding of what it feels like to be a citizen of this region," said Michael Siegal, Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Jewish Federations of North America, leading a solidarity mission in the South of Israel. "As the red alerts sounded, we rushed for shelter together with small children. We could clearly see the urgent and incredible need for cash allocations and immediate assistance for children, elderly, victims of terror and all the people of Israel."
The group surveyed damage inflicted to a house hit by a rocket, visited the Jewish Agency's Ibim absorption center and spoke with an Ethiopian family, who had arrived one month ago. They also made a condolence call to the family of one of the three victims killed by a Gazan rocket attack on Thursday in Kiryat Malachi.
The Victims of Terror Relief Fund committee, set up by The Jewish Federations of North America with $5 million available to be allocated aims to address Israel's most critical needs at this time. The committee is prioritizing helping children who've been trapped in shelters since the beginning of the operation on Wednesday, providing them with assistance while in the shelters and with respite activities away from the epicenter of the violence. The fund aims to help children with disabilities and special needs, seniors and adults with disabilities who need immediate help with food and home care, and families who are victims of terror. JFNA wants to help all those suffering under the ongoing trauma of relentless rocket fire.
These funds also go to support the activities of our partners.
The Jewish Agency for Israel provided respite care for thousands of children from the South, taking them out of rocket range.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee initially distributed supplies and food for elderly and disabled in the 0-7 kilometer range of Gaza (Sderot, Eshkol Regional Council, Sha'ar HaNegev, Sdot Negev Regional Council, Hof Ashkelon, Netivot and Ashkelon). It provided portable toilets for people with severe disabilities, initially in Beersheva, Sderot, Ashdod and Ashkelon. Volunteer-led activities for children in shelters were also conducted using 200 activity kits with arts and crafts materials, games and other supplies to make the time more agreeable, giving children some venue to let off steam.
World ORT innovative distance learning technology enabled children to keep up to date with their school work from their shelters. World ORT is on its way to setting up a thousand "smart classrooms" in Negev and Galilee schools by 2013 and the education via computer is being used right now.
Please remember, a "cease fire" does not mean that the rockets stop or that the shelters are no longer used - or that the trauma stops. The region still needs our help to re-build and recover from this latest escalation and Israel still needs our help to make her case to those unfamiliar with the realities of the situation.  We thank you for your past, continued, and future support as we take this long weekend to be thankful for what we have and for what we can give to others, this year especially. |
