Emergency Response Efforts

If you are looking for ways to help, this link from our friends at New Israel Fund is a useful resource: https://www.nif.org/nifs-emergency-response-plan/


From our colleagues at New Israel Fund:

Support Emergency Response Efforts

"This episode is still not over, and there is still a great deal that we don’t understand about what happened and what will happen next. 

But we know that we need to act in a few key areas right away, and we want to invite you to join these efforts.

  1. Basic care for the most vulnerable groups: While the country reels from this attack, we must make sure that no communities are left behind. Families in the kibbutzim near the Gaza Border are still not reunited and may not have the access to care that they need. Over 15 Bedouins from unrecognized villages in the South have been killed and many more injured. With very little infrastructure – including very few bomb shelters—and decades of neglect by consecutive governments, this community needs urgent support to ensure that basic care is available for those injured, left homeless, and for those needing arrangements for the dead. These are just examples of two vulnerable groups that need our help right now.

  2. Combating violent speech and incitement online: Ever since news of the attack first broke, right-wing extremists have been calling for revenge and attempting to escalate an already dangerous episode by inciting hatred and fomenting violence in mixed Arab-Jewish cities and towns throughout the country. Learning from past experiences, we know how quickly and easily these kinds of inciting messages can spread and lead to conflicts and conflagrations  on the ground. We need to help de-escalate, de-platform and disempower these voices online.

  3. Preventing inter-communal violence in mixed cities: Through focused efforts with municipalities, the media, and local grassroots leaders, we have to work to prevent the spread of violence into mixed Arab and Jewish cities.

  4. Mental health and trauma counseling: We know that yesterday was among the most terrifying and traumatizing  days for Israelis in recent memory. People are shocked and reeling and we know that when that shock begins to fade, there will be a massive need for trauma counseling and mental health support for many, including civil society leaders, who will need to show up for their communities and lead long-term efforts even as they deal with their own trauma.

Support Emergency Response Efforts

We know that the situation is fluid and dangerous, and that there are very difficult times ahead. But we also know that in this moment of crisis, providing support to those Israelis looking out for the most vulnerable, fighting hatred and incitement, and defending the hope for a truly shared future for all Israelis is what we are called to do."