Month: July 2025

Sometimes, it takes stepping into a space to truly understand what our donations make possible.

I invite you to do just that through our Impact in Action series: immersive experiences that offer a firsthand look at the real lives touched by your generosity—how your philanthropy becomes belonging, community, and joy.

On July 23, we will experience the definition of Jewish joy – camp. Together, we will be visiting one of the many Jewish summer camps that Federation supports – where children of all abilities are embraced, celebrated, and empowered to embrace Jewish identity and have the time of their lives. You’ll hear from staff, meet campers, and see what it means to build a Jewish future rooted in inclusion and love. Register today.

On September 3 (save the date!), we’ll explore how your donations create and strengthen our local community’s connection with Israel and Israelis. We’ll be joined by a delegation from Hillel Israel to build bridges, dialogue and understanding.

And in November, we’ll come together with one of our partner agencies to prepare meals by the thousands for individuals and families experiencing food insecurity and homelessness. It’s sacred work—hands-on, heart-forward, and grounded in our deepest values.

These are more than just experiences; these are invitations to witness your impact. Come see what we’re building—and feel the difference you make.

Your generosity makes all of this possible. And when we show up to see it in action, our commitment deepens.

In the wake of last month’s missile attacks in Israel, the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington has announced a new round of emergency relief grants totaling over $378,000 to help Israeli communities recover, rebuild infrastructure, and support displaced families.

Though a ceasefire is now in place, the impact of the missile strikes remains widespread. Families have been displaced, and while many schools and businesses have reopened, hundreds remain under repair. Towns previously untouched by conflict are now grappling with destruction and uncertainty. More than 9,700 Israelis have been evacuated from homes that were hit or deemed unsafe, many now living in temporary accommodations with no clear timeline for return.

Municipalities across northern Israel are stretched thin, working to maintain public safety, deliver essential services, and care for vulnerable populations. One of the most urgent issues is the lack of certified, reinforced public shelters, particularly in under-resourced communities. Mobile units—like those previously deployed in Druze towns and the Kinneret Valley Cluster (KVC)—offer limited protection and are not built to withstand the current level of threat.

In response, the Federation is directing these emergency relief funds to trusted partners meeting critical needs on the ground. These grants reflect a community-led approach: guided by lay leaders and professionals, informed by local insight, and grounded in a strategic model designed to meet both immediate and long-term recovery goals.

This effort aligns with the organization’s evolving Israel strategy—one rooted in partnership, not just philanthropy. Several of the funded initiatives emerged from ongoing work with the KVC, a diverse northern region central to its place-based investment in long-term recovery and resilience.

Expanding Civilian Protection and Infrastructure

Residents in towns like Tiberias and Beit Shean are gaining access to safe shelter through a large-scale restoration project led by Osim Shechunah, a grassroots volunteer network transforming neglected public spaces into reinforced community shelters. This project was prioritized through insights from KVC partners and aligns with Federation’s goal of strengthening vulnerable northern communities.

Public shelters are also being equipped with emergency supplies, and homebound seniors are receiving essential care and safety checks through the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), one of the Federation’s long-standing global humanitarian partners.

Relieving Pressure on Israel’s Healthcare System

Patients recovering from trauma or illness will now receive care at home via Sheba Beyond, the virtual division of Sheba Medical Center. This expansion helps alleviate the strain on hospitals like Sheba, which has taken on patients transferred from missile-damaged facilities such as Soroka Hospital.

Emergency readiness is also being bolstered in northern Israel, where Poriyah Medical Center’s trauma unit—currently operating underground—is receiving upgraded equipment. Serving the Galilee and Golan, Poriyah is a key regional provider and a strategic focus of the Federation’s Israel infrastructure investment.

Supporting Emotional Recovery and Social Stability

Displaced children and families are receiving emotional care and daily structure from teen counselors mobilized by Dror Israel, a national movement focused on education and community resilience.

Meanwhile, more than 500 people—including spouses and children of IDF reservists—will receive emotional, financial, and parenting support from HaBayit BeMiluim, which pairs trained volunteers with families facing prolonged military service and uncertainty.

Together, these emergency grants address both urgent needs and longer-term recovery. They reflect a relationship-driven approach to supporting Israeli communities through trauma, rebuilding, and resilience.

On July 1, during Federation Day at the Nova Music Festival Exhibition in Gallery Place, Jackson Siegal of In-Rel Properties showed up with purpose.

He didn’t come alone. He brought his team: five maintenance men, straight from the job site, pockets full of screwdrivers and flashlights.

At the security checkpoint, they handed over their tools. A small, routine act. But upstairs, those everyday objects stood in quiet, haunting contrast to what lay on the tables.

Phones. Backpacks. Jewelry. Sandals. Not items people forgot, but belongings of those who were hunted, kidnapped, and murdered on October 7. Artifacts recovered from the site of the massacre.

Jackson’s team moved through the exhibit slowly, together. At the table of artifacts, a volunteer who had helped clean and catalog each item spoke with quiet steadiness, explaining what had happened on October 7. She had washed away the blood so the victims’ families wouldn’t have to see it. But she left the dust on the shoes. Just as they were found.

Dust from the earth where people danced, where thousands fled, where hundreds were murdered.

At one point, Jackson and the volunteer slipped into Hebrew. One of the younger workers leaned in to translate into Spanish for an older teammate. No one asked him to. He just did.

That kind of instinct—across languages, generations, and lived experience—is exactly what Federation Day was made to hold. A moment to show up. To witness. To carry memory together.

Jackson, who recently joined Federation’s Real Estate Network, didn’t say much. But the way he moved through the exhibit—asking questions, staying present—set the tone for his team.

Moments like this have defined the exhibit since it opened here in Greater Washington. Earlier in the run, a survivor spotted something he never expected: his hat.

Not just any hat. The one his friends always borrowed for pictures. The one that made people smile. The one everyone said made him look like Bruno Mars.

He left it there. Because it wasn’t just his anymore. It was part of the story now.

Something shifted for Jackson’s team, too. They didn’t just visit. They paid attention. They stayed with it.

They arrived with the tools of their trade. They left with something harder to name—but just as real. A story to carry. A truth to hold.

This is what it means to show up for one another. This is how memory becomes action.

Bringing the exhibit to Washington made space for moments like this—quiet, human, unforgettable. The kind that help us hold the truth and carry it forward, together.