Israel’s Immediate Needs

The surprise attack began early Saturday morning, Oct. 7, and within hours the military called up over 300,000 reservists (unprecedented in Israel’s history) to supplement the 175,000 regular soldiers. That’s about half a million Israelis (5.5% of the population) fighting to protect our nation.

Because of the urgency, the logistics for our government and military is working hard to catch up on all the needs. For example, there were thousands of reservists waiting for hours at the train station (not usually operating on Shabbat) until the government was able to get the trains running. Many had departed their homes so fast they didn’t have food or water.

When people heard about the situation on social media, they rushed to the station with sustenance. Those same soldiers and the families in the southern towns (where everything is locked down) also lacked standard items like chargers, underwear, toothbrushes, etc. So, there have been drop off stations all over Israel for donations, and volunteers have been driving them to the bases and cities. Volunteers have come out in droves to donate blood and services to help pick up the slack. Doulas are offering free support to pregnant women whose husbands/partners are fighting this war, so they have someone by their side during delivery.

The current concern is the army gear needed for the additional 300,000 soldiers. Last week, my daughter-in-law, Yael, picked up helmets from a supplier needed for our son Mataan’s unit, and one of his friends (also a soldier) delivered them to his unit. There is now a coordinated effort to help raise funds for these military items on this newly created FundMe site that Yael sent us: https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/ImmediateTacticalNeeds.

Also worthy of funds is United Hatzalah (https://israelrescue.org/), which is a volunteer-based motorcycle emergency medical service.

Our Jewish family/peoplehood is small and united (in Israel and in the diaspora), and everyone knows someone who has been gravely affected.

I know many of you attended the Detroit community gathering at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue. Sadly, I heard that our new community’s Israeli emissary’s brother was killed in the war.

May the memories of the nearly 1,000 senseless deaths be a blessing unto all who knew and loved them. May this war produce a silver lining of future peace.

“No more war, no more bloodshed.”— Menachem Begin, November 1977

Article Source – The Detroit Jewish News