The last week has been yet another in a series of significant events for the Jewish people worldwide and for our beloved State of Israel.
Since the launch of Operation Rising Lion, the world has witnessed the determination of the Jewish people. We will never again allow a nation that has declared its intention to annihilate the State of Israel and launch a modern-day Holocaust to possess the weapons or the freedom of action to carry out this threat. The world has also witnessed the skill and bravery of the defenders of Israel as they have taken to the skies day after day, and the resilience of the Israeli people who have endured nightly ballistic missile attacks from Iran. Our prayers are with the brave soldiers and with all the victims of Iran’s attacks. May the soldiers be strengthened, may the mourners be comforted among all the mourners of our people, and may the injured fully recover.
As always, Jewish Federations across North America have swung into action to support our brothers and sisters in Israel. Even as we are deep in the planning for our multi-year Rebuild Israel campaign, we also recognize that there are new and urgent emergency needs as a result of this new military operation:
- Following the attack on Soroka Hospital, we received this message from health authorities: “Unprotected hospitals are being evacuated, non-acute patients are being discharged under difficult conditions, and intensive care, trauma, and maternity wards have been moved to protected buildings or transferred to fortified hospitals. At this stage, residents of the Negev and southern regions have no access to nearby hospitals. Trauma cases and childbirths will require long-distance travel.”
- The Wall Street Journal estimates that the war is costing Israel “hundreds of millions of dollars per day” while Ynet puts the daily cost at $1B.
- Israeli NGOs are in full swing, providing support, food and comfort to people in shelters.
- Our partners at the Jewish Agency for Israel and JDC are fully engaged in caring for those who need help.
We will not fail to support the people of Israel as they come under the most severe and sustained military attack in Israel's history. Jewish Federations will meet the moment just as we did following the October 7th attacks.
The launch of Operation Rising Lion also comes in the midst of the greatest escalation of incitement and physical violence against the Jews of North America since the Tree of Life shootings in October 2018. We are proud and grateful for our community security initiatives that have protected our communities so ably in the face of hostile protests and constant harassment. Nevertheless, we recognize that we must once again increase our security preparedness and insist that our governments at all levels do the same. The security of our community is our highest priority, and we will do everything that it takes to allow Jewish life to continue to flourish in safety.
With events moving quickly, please note the following updates:
- We will host a second, system-wide webinar to update on the progress of Operation Rising Lion, this morning, June 20, 2025 at 11 AM Eastern time. Among the presenters will be the acclaimed Israeli journalist Haviv Rettig Gur.
- The Jewish Federation of North America‘s Israel Emergency Allocation Committee, which has worked since October 7th to ensure that we have collectively met all emergency needs in Israel resulting from the Hamas terror attacks, has released the first $5 million in emergency allocations to address new needs created by the Iranian ballistic missile attacks, and will meet Sunday to release further funds. The list of allocations will be published shortly, but it certainly includes the needs of the hospitals. We are asking Federations to assist in replenishing the collective emergency response fund as quickly as possible. Many Federations have already started raising new emergency funds and others will join the effort this week.
- Our Emergency Leadership Fly-in to Washington DC, in partnership with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, scheduled for this Wednesday, and Thursday June 25–26, is even more urgent than when it was first scheduled after the Washington DC and Boulder attacks. Our focus on the resources needed for the security of Jews in North America is now also joined by our care for the security of the State of Israel. We are proud that nearly 100 communities have responded to this call to come to Washington, as well as nearly 50 national organizations organized by the Conference of Presidents. The security of the delegations coming to Washington is of utmost importance, and we are confident in the security plans that are in place.
As always, thank you for all you do for your community and for the Jewish people. We pray for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and the immediate release of the hostages held prisoner in Gaza. Please feel free to reach out to any of us with questions or suggestions.
Julie Platt, Chair
Gary Torgow, Chair-elect
Eric Fingerhut, President and CEO
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