In these challenging times, it’s paramount that our community remains not only informed about what is happening in Israel, but also united in our efforts to support our brothers and sisters there. This page will serve as our central location for all events related to Israel at Beth El, as well as noteworthy events taking place around the broader Westchester community. We will also keep an updated list of resources and links that we believe can be helpful as we continue to process everything about this situation as it unfolds.
On Monday, June 3rd at 7:30pm, we hosted Tomer Zak, a member of Kibbutz Kissufim.
Tomer (age 22), along with her older brother, was not on the Kibbutz on October 7th. Tragically, her parents and her younger brother were killed by Hamas. Tomer is visiting the U.S. to march in the Israel Day Parade on Saturday, and then to work at a Jewish camp over the summer.
Thank you for joining us on Monday evening in supporting Tomer as she shared with us stories about life on Kibbutz Kissufim before October 7th, and her families’ experiences since that day. Tomer is appreciative of the opportunity to speak to our community and is looking forward to establishing an ongoing relationship with Beth El Synagogue.
Since October 7th, we have all been grappling with our emotions and finding ways, both as a community and as individuals, to support Israel. Our Israel 360 team, along with our Shaliach, Shachar Liran-Hanan, from the Jewish Agency, has been working on developing a relationship with Kibbutz Kissufim with the hope that our Beth El Community can forge a strong relationship with Kissufim, as they seek to rebuild their beloved Kibbutz.
Kibbutz Kissufim is located in the Gaza envelope, only 0.3 miles from the Gaza border. Kissufim was brutally attacked on October 7th. Eighteen members of the kibbutz were murdered, and one was taken hostage. Shlomo Mansour, a Holocaust Survivor, aged 86 (his birthday was March 17), is the oldest known hostage taken on October 7th.
The kibbutz families are currently living in a hotel at the Dead Sea and are planning to temporarily move to Omer, a community in Be’er Sheva—but their goal is to return to their homes. They are determined to rebuild and grow bigger and stronger.
Other Local Events
As a service to our members, Beth El includes in this section outside events that may be of interest to members of our community. Listing an event does not constitute endorsement of the event by Beth El.
RUN FOR THEIR LIVES Westchester Run for your lives will meet at Kensico Dam Plaza on Sunday at 10:30am same as last week, rain or shine. Bring a friend, wear red, and let’s wave our flags, with pride, for the hostages, their families and friends, and for Am Yisrael. Release Them Now.
NOVA FESTIVAL DISPLAY IN NEW YORK The Nova Music Festival Exhibition is an in-depth remembrance of the brutal October 7th attack. Bringing the events of October 7th and the “Tribe of Nova” festival in southern Israel to New York City. The installation sets out to recreate an event dedicated to peace and love that was brutally cut short by Hamas’s attack on Israel from Gaza on that fateful day. This groundbreaking installation will be open to the public through May 23rd. To learn more, click here.
MORE IN WESTCHESTER Check out more Westchester events in Westchester Jewish Council’s Community Calendar and Israel In Westchester.
Purchase Dog Tags for the Hostages Here. All proceeds go to UJA’s Israel Emergency Fund.
Emergency Volunteers Project (EVP) is staffing two projects in addition to its professional firefighters initiative: The EVP Mass-Feeding Unit, working with Israel’s Home Front Command, trains volunteers to prepare fresh, healthy meals for IDF units and needy populations using a fleet of mobile kitchens. The EVP Make A Soldier Smile project has volunteers cooking meals at popup field kitchens on army bases.
Contact EVP through this webform; by emailing office1@evp.org.il; or by calling 781-713-4562 (USA) or 073-729-1954 (Israel).
Israel Food Rescue Mission is a joint effort of HaShomer HaChadash, Kol Israel, Leket Israel and Brothers in Arms, in response to a war-related manpower crisis on Israeli farms. Volunteers from abroad with a valid passport and ability to commit to at least 10 days of agricultural labor are welcome to apply. Travel and lodging subsidies are available.
Click here to volunteer for the Israel Food Rescue Mission or email rabbirandybrown@gmail.com.
Mission Hinenu is helping understaffed hospitals by processing paperwork for licensed medical personnel (physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, therapists, psychologists, pharmacists) and non-medical personnel (patient transport, feeding and other tasks) able to come to Israel to volunteer. Spearheaded by siblings Yigal Marcus and Eliana Marcus Aaron, Mission Hinenu works in partnership with the Health Ministry to find and place hospital volunteers efficiently.
Click here or here to access the application forms for medical and non-medical hospital volunteers.
Jewish National Fund-USA has scheduled a series of five-day volunteer missions in Israel, starting December 10-14. Participants (ages 18 and up) will be housed in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv and spend four to six hours per day working in agriculture or with displaced families, or assisting with logistical duties at an IDF base.
Click here to sign up and to get more information on JNF-USA volunteer missions.
Volunteers for Israel and Sar-El Israel provide opportunities for civilian volunteer service on IDF bases.
For VFI inquiries, email info@vfi-usa.org, call 866-514-1948 (US) or fill out this form online. For Sar-El programs, email johanna@sar-el.org or click here.
Startup Reserves for Israel, based in New York, is recruiting thousands of tech workers to give support, guidance and staffing to some 25 companies in Israel’s high-tech sector. According to an Israel Innovation Authority and Start-Up Nation Policy Institute report, 15% to 20% of tech employees have been mobilized for reserve duty, leaving 70 percent of Israeli tech companies operationally shorthanded.
Apply to Startup Reserves for Israel here or email info@startupreserves.org.
Citrus & Salt in Tel Aviv paused its usual cooking workshops and launched Citizen’s Kitchen to provide 500 daily fresh meals for Israeli soldiers and displaced families. Sisters Aliya Fastman and Shaendl Davis, with Alon Sharaby run the project and work in cooperation with World Central Kitchen. The volunteer effort is staffed mainly by English-speaking immigrants and visitors.
To volunteer at Citrus & Salt, contact Aliya Fastman, citrus.salt@gmail.com or +972-53-334-6861.
Pantry Packers of Jerusalem ordinarily provides Meals on Wheels to 37,000 families every month, and also runs soup kitchens. Now, with thousands of refugee families from the south sheltering in Jerusalem, the city asked Pantry Packers to commit to providing 6,000 meals, three times a day. Lots of extra hands are needed.
To schedule a volunteer activity at Pantry Packers, email volunteer@pantrypackers.org or click here.
OneFamily needs volunteers to provide a range of services to victims of terror, from cooking and baking to visiting injured people in the hospital and more, as well as administrative support services such as social media, photography and answering phones.
Apply to volunteer at OneFamily here.
Adopt-A-Safta is welcoming foreign volunteers, with access to a vehicle, to deliver Shabbat meals to isolated seniors on Friday mornings. Many of the recipients are Holocaust survivors in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area.
Volunteers may complete this form online to help Adopt-A-Safta with meal delivery.
Birthright Israel alumni, aged 18 to 40, can spend two weeks volunteering in food rescue operations as well as sorting, packing and distributing goods for civil and military personnel. Birthright is offering free airport transfers as well as health insurance and accommodations in Tel Aviv with safe rooms. The first trip is scheduled for November 20 to December 3.
Apply here for Birthright Israel alumni volunteer trips.
Masa Israel Journey is offering a new six-week volunteer program, designed in response to the ongoing conflict. Participants may choose food packaging, tutoring, agricultural work, assisting displaced families or contributing to rehabilitation efforts in southern and northern Israel.
The program also includes leadership seminars and certifications of leadership upon completion of the program. The first cohort begins December 5 and is open to individuals aged 18-40, with more starting dates being announced soon.
Apply to Masa’s volunteer program here.
Resources
Click here for the recording of Israel 360’s Breakfast Briefing with Amir Tibon: Ha’aretz Diplomatic Correspondent and Survivor of the Hamas Attack on Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Westchester Jewish Council’s Resources
For ongoing insight into how Israeli’s are thinking about this moment, listen to the Shalom Hartman Institute’s podcast here.
For Michael Koplow’s weekly column about Israel policy and strategy from The Israel Policy Forum, click here.Ha’