"We can assure the newcomers freedom from fear ... the Jews of the United States will help insure them from want."

With these words, Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first President, became among the first to describe the historic partnership between Israel and the North American Jewish community. It was 1951 and Israel was less than three years old and it had already doubled its population with 700,000 new immigrants. The North American Jewish community raised the funds to bring them to Israel and help absorb them into Israeli society.

The Jewish federations funded Operation Magic Carpet, which airlifted 50,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel between 1948 to 1950.

The Jewish federations funded Operation Ezra in 1951, which brought 120,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel.

In 1985, when the gates to Jewish immigration opened in Ethiopia, 14,000 members of that ancient community were airlifted to Israel within 36 hours. That airlift, Operation Moses, was also funded by federation donors.

Four years later, after the Soviet Union finally agreed to allow Jews to leave, Operation Exodus was launched. North American Jews raised $1 billion to rescue and resettle more than 700, 000 Jews.

In 1991, a second Ethiopian airlift -- called Operation Solomon -- brought 14,000 more Jews home to Israel. And it was also funded by the North American Jewish community.

Since then, Jewish federation has helped build a nation, has helped rescue and absorb more than 2.6 million immigrants, to develop 885 towns and communities, to transform disadvantaged neighborhoods, and to form partnerships that will change the face of Israel forever.