Support Israel Today
The information below is provided through the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
- News from Jewish Federation Partners on the Ground
- Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Activities
- Last weekend, the IDF conducted an airstrike on a compound where Hamas’s number two in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, who is also the organization’s military chief, was hiding. He appears to have been killed in the attack.
- The IDF confirmed that Hamas senior commander Rafa’a Salameh, who oversaw the terrorist group’s Khan Younis battalion, was killed. Hamas claims that 90 people were killed in the attack. According to the IDF, a majority of those killed, including guards of Dief and Salameh, are affiliated with Hamas.
- Deif was a founding member of Hamas’s Qassam Brigades; he was one of the masterminds behind the Oct. 7 massacres. For over three decades, he promoted terrorism, planned bombings, and masterminded the murder of Israelis and the abduction of soldiers. In 1989, during the height of the first Palestinian Intifada, Deif arrested by Israel and released after 16 months in prison.
- Deif was designated as a terrorist by the United States in 2015, along with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Deif has been on Israel’s most-wanted list since 1995. He has survived multiple assassination attempts in the past.
- Photos of the location of the strike show the scene both before and after. They support the IDF’s claims that this strike was targeted solely at the Hamas compound.
- In keeping with a recent Israeli Supreme Court decision, Israel’s Defense Ministry has instructed the IDF to send out 1,000 draft orders on Sunday to members of the ultra-Orthodox community. The orders are the first stage in the screening process that the military carries out for recruits, ahead of enlistment in the military in the upcoming year. The IDF has said it can draft 3,000 Haredi men in the next twelve months. Prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis have urged yeshiva students to ignore any communication from the IDF.
- On Sunday, in a ramming attack at a bus station near Ramle (south of Tel Aviv), a Palestinian drove his car into a bus stop, injuring four, including one critically.
- See here for a complete list of IDF soldiers killed since Oct. 7.
- Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Activities
See the names and faces of those currently being held hostage in Gaza: Bring Them Home Now
ADVOCATE FOR iSRAEL
· Contact your elected officials and urge them to demand that all of the hostages be returned home immediately by visiting One Minute a Day. Click HERE
PLACES TO CONSIDER DONATING
- Bring Them Home Now Shop: Supports the efforts of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
- Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Philly Stands with Israel Fund:Emergency response campaign to provide immediate relief to the people and State of Israel during the current attacks
- Israel Bonds:To support the war effort against Hamas, to rebuild infrastructure and southern communities attacked, and to show our emotional and material investment in the State of Israel.
- StandWithUs Israel Emergency Fund: Donations made on this page will send meals and badly-needed supplies to Israeli army bases.
- American Friends of Magen David Adom: Israel’s National Emergency Pre-Hospital Medical and Blood Services Organization. Donations made through the link in this email will be matched and will help purchase urgently needed supplies.
- United Hatzalah: Volunteer emergency medical services (EMS) organization committed to providing the fastest response to medical emergencies across Israel. Donations will help purchase urgently needed supplies.
- Friends of the IDF: Providing for the health, welfare, and education of IDF soldiers.
- JGive: Provide assistance to the victims of the recent horrific attacks on Israeli soil and the war that has ensued. All the donations collected will be distributed to charities that offer relief services, welfare, equipment, food and other necessities to the victims of the war and their families.
- Jewish National Fund (JNF): Donate to support evacuation from hardest hit communities on the border including transportation and emergency housing, provide hygiene, bedding, and care packages to those in need, provide firefighting and protective equipment to those on the front lines, offer psychological treatment, and give the local communities the promise of rebuilding for tomorrow.
VOLUNTEER IN ISRAEL
The Jewish National Fund–USA is offering highly subsidized missions to volunteer in Israel for four days and four nights, taking place twice a month, December 2023 through March 2024. Visit their website to learn more and register.
resources on the web
Israel/Hamas War Resources from the Center for Israel Education
ADL Debunk: Myths and False Narratives About the Israel-Hamas War
Israel, Hamas, and International Law: What You Need to Know
The History of Israel/Palestine before 1948
General Resources about Israel and Israel’s History from the Center for Israel Education
AJC Glossary to “Translate Hate”
TALK TO YOUR KIDS
Empowering Students in the Aftermath of Hate
How to Talk to Your Kids about What’s Happening in Israel
Guidance for Talking to Our Kids from a Trauma Psychologist
Talking to Kids About Israel in a Time of Crisis
RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS ON CAMPUS
Hillel’s Campus Antisemitism Legal Line: File a Report
A Sample Letter to Send to College/University Administration
Identifying and Understanding Antisemitism
What It’s Like To Be A Jewish Student at Columbia Today
Tough Questions Answered About Gaza from the AJC
To report an antisemitic incident:
Office of Civil Rights Electronic Complaint Form
Hillel’s Portal to report antisemitic incidents
Tefillah (Prayer) Resources
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- A Prayer for Israel in this Time of War by Rabbi Naomi Levy
- Koren Prayer for IDF
- Koren Prayer for Missing/Captured Individuals
- Prayer by Rabbi David Wolpe
- Prayer for Israel at War by Rabbi Michael Knopf
To watch a recording of Rabbi David Glanzberg-Krainin’s presentation on Reflections from the Federation’s Emergency Solidarity Mission click here.