Skip Navigation LinksHome > About Us > Annual Report: Israel Emergency Campaign
Israel Emergency Campaign

Go to Annual Report table of contents
Send a question to UJC Direct

North American communities: Caring deeply for Israelis affected by terror

More than 700 Israelis have been killed and more than 4,000 seriously injured since September 2000. Thousands of lives have been shattered by Palestinian violence. The damage cannot be undone, but the UJC Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC) helps keep Israelis safe and helps those affected by terror put their lives back together.

The IEC's Fund For Victims of Terror has granted more than $4 million to over 700 families in the past year. The aid covers housing, mobility, medical assistance, and direct financial assistance. Last summer, IEC funds helped almost 300,000 Israeli children attend day camps, including thousands of children with special needs.

Olecia Sorokin and her family immigrated to Israel in fall 2000 from Russia. About six months later, she, her husband, her 6-year-old son Sasha, and her brother Jerman's fiancée were entering the Netanya mall when a bomb exploded, killing her husband and her brother's fiancée and injuring Olecia and Sasha. Olecia sustained numerous injuries. A year and a half later, she is still recovering—undergoing treatments for burns on her face and reconstructive surgery on her ear. Sasha's injuries were less severe, but he needed several surgeries to correct injuries to his face and jaw.
     Part of the recovery process for this family was a fresh start in a new home. They moved to Rishon L'tzion, where a grant from the Fund For Victims of Terror helped them purchase furniture and appliances for their apartment.

This fall, IEC funds are paying for after-school programming for thousands of school children, keeping them safe in the vulnerable hours before their parents come home from work.  Other funds pay guards to protect Israeli schools.

The priorities for spending IEC funds were shaped by an emergency work group made up of lay leaders from federations all over the country, working with recommendations formulated by JDC and the Jewish Agency, who in turn consulted with the Government of Israel.

A previous campaign called Israel Now, launched by the Federations of North America in 2001, raised money, created events, organized missions, and promoted advocacy for Israel. On Sunday, March 24, 2002, over 100 communities across the continent held simultaneous rallies and gatherings to demonstrate solidarity with Israel. Prime Minister Sharon and Israeli victims of Palestinian terror participated via satellite.

A few days later, the Passover massacre killed 29 Israelis in Netanya, and a new wave of attacks followed. It was clear that the federations had to act. On April 8th, the Board of Trustees of United Jewish Communities voted to launch a second-line campaign, the Israel Emergency Campaign. Communities large and small mobilized, and in less than four months, the Israel Emergency Campaign raised over $200 million from thousands of donors, many of them new to the federations' donor lists.

The IEC total currently tops $347 million. To get there, in addition to major gifts from donors, Central Massachusetts schoolchildren turned in tzedakah boxes containing over $5,000 in change. A girl who saved her money all year for a spring-break trip to Europe instead gave it all to the fund; another, who won a Holocaust-education essay contest, donated her cash prize. Twenty California college students raised over $4,000 in one hour at a phone-a-thon. The Russian immigrant community in St. Paul has pledged over $6,000. Instead of receiving presents for their birthdays, Milwaukee first-graders asked their friends to make a donation to the Israel Emergency Campaign.

UJC's staff mobilized on all fronts to support the federations' efforts: promoting the campaign on a national level; creating marketing materials; advising communities on implementing the campaign and planning events; developing a "case for giving"; providing public relations assistance in organizing rallies, forums, and marches; making available speakers, solicitors, and training; and disseminating regular Israel news updates and campaign highlights.

The IEC has given North American Jews an opportunity to help Israelis in a tangible way, through programs that really make a difference and that add a measure of security to Israelis' lives at a time of terror and uncertainty.

Annual Report table of contents:

Mobilizing Our Jewish Values | Annual Campaign | 9/11 Fund | Israel Emergency Campaign  Missions | Israel Overseas: Argentina | Planned Giving and Endowments | Renaissance and Renewal Alliance | Human Services And Social Policy | FedWeb |  How UJC Works