On October 7, 2024, I accompanied a delegation of Jewish National Fund-USA leaders and donors from across the United States on a “We Choose Life” solidarity mission. Filling two buses on a tour to the sites of the Hamas attack in southern Israel, their first stop was Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, named after Mordechai Anielewicz, leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. They went on to hold a cornerstone-laying ceremony in Sha’ar Hanegev for the Ofir Libstein Regional Athletic Complex in memory of the council head who fell defending his home a year before; dedicated a Torah at the Supernova festival site; planted olive trees in a new neighborhood on Kibbutz Re’im; and participated in a Building Together ceremony commemorating those lost and supporting families of the hostages held in Gaza.
Besides funding these worthy initiatives, Jewish National Fund-USA, led by its charismatic CEO Russell F. Robinson, has sent 20 large missions and thousands of volunteers to Israel since October 7, 2023, building nine new parks and helping evacuees return to freshly painted rebuilt schools and homes, with flowers and trees planted in their gardens. A year ago, Jewish National Fund-USA swung into action to help Israel wherever it could, providing immediate relief to displaced Israelis and breaking records in collecting funds from its donors.
