November 19 - 23, 2023
Steven Shulman, President and CEO of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA and Sarah Mali, Director General, Israel, have appeared in various media outlets, which can be found below.
A Deserving Honour to Sarah Mali
Congratulations to JFC-UIA’s Sarah Mali, whose work on our behalf, and on behalf of our Canadian Jewish federations, is recognized in the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth for International Women’s Day, in a feature on the Jewish world.
Sarah appears alongside Becky Caspi of JFNA, and Shira Ruderman, as a champion of our Canadian federations’ philanthropic work, in addition to a focus on the seismic shift in conceptions that 7.10 brought about.
The article link is in its original Hebrew. We will provide an English version in due course.
Hamilton Jewish News
Now is the time to do more
November 2023
Steven Shulman
All of us have heard that the war between Israel and Hamas is a fight for Israel’s survival. That’s not just a statement about Israel’s ability to secure families in their own homes; it’s a statement about the need to ensure that Israel’s civil society will recover and grow stronger.
The question is, what can we do?
Expressions of solidarity in the form of organizing and attending community rallies, supporting advocacy efforts, reaching out to our Israeli friends and family—all these are important steps.
We all have friends and coworkers who are not Jewish and, like most Canadians, are of goodwill. Reach out. We can’t assume our neighbours understand the situation, trauma suffered by Israelis, and their need for security, as well as the shared values between the Canadian people and the Israeli people. As proud Canadian Jews, you are the most effective potential bridge to understanding.
Support your Hamilton Jewish Federation campaign. The community’s need for Federation’s leadership is greater today than ever. There is urgency on security and advocacy, as well as the critical need for the Federation to lead in the Jewish community’s resilience, working with synagogues, schools, and all organizations. That takes money. Now is the time to increase or make your first generous gift.
Israel and the Jewish people have not faced such an emergency since 1948. If ever there were a time to reach into your pockets and accounts, as deeply as possible, this is it. The people of Israel need your help, now, and the most effective way to do so is by supporting Hamilton Jewish Federation‘s Israel Emergency Campaign.
So far, Hamilton has been very generous, raising more than $1.1 million. Hamilton is doing its part in Canadian federations’ efforts, which so far total more than $125 million. These dollars have been raised in communities large, medium, and small. The amount raised, and growing, is a recognition of incomparable need, trust in federations, and reflects the deep bond Canadian Jews have with the people of Israel.
Canadian charities law prohibits funding any military outside of Canada.
So what do your Hamilton Jewish Federation donations support? The people of Israel and civil society are in desperate need. Your funds support The Jewish Agency‘s Victims of Terror Fund. With more than 1,200 murdered, thousands wounded, and thousands more family members affected, Hamilton’s funds provide immediate and ongoing financial needs and professional supports to access all available services.
Together, our funds are helping special populations like families of hostages, seniors living in the confrontation zone, and new immigrants. They are traumatized and require respite, extra services, and care.
There are now more than 250,000 evacuees living in temporary residences from the south and the north who we are helping with essentials. We are also providing emergency medical equipment in hospitals, ambulances, and other mobile units. And, critically, we are ensuring trauma relief on a broad scale.
This list could change overnight, and Hamilton Federation, working with Jewish Federations Canada-UIA (JFC-UIA) will be able to respond to ensure the most effective use of funds. That’s because JFC-UIA is providing a constant assessment of needs on the ground with our team in Israel.
Cadence is critical. This emergency will not be over in the next month or two, when most of the fundraising will be done. Federation’s approach is to ensure that funds are provided for immediate emergency needs now; in the medium term when the Israeli people, communities, and society transition toward normalcy; and for the longer-term recovery ensuring that the people of Israel and their communities build back better.
Every Israeli has been directly affected. My colleagues exemplify that story. Eddy Azran, Toronto Federation’s representative in Sderot, fought off Hamas terrorists on his kibbutz close to the Gaza border. Meytal Novidomsky, responsible for Canada’s Coast to Coast federations’ partnership in the north, has been evacuated from her home because of Hezbollah’s rockets. A daughter of Sarah Mali, JFC-UIA’s Israel Director General, has a best friend who was married for fewer than three months on Oct. 7. Her husband was murdered, leaving a 20-year-old widow. The list goes on.
Jews are under attack. Jews here and in Israel are responding. Now is the time to do more than we have ever done before. We will do it together.
Am Yisrael Chai.
The Zoomer, Vision TV
Clip aired Sunday, October 15, 2023 (Steven Shulman)
(English Translation of Globes Israel Article - October 22, 2023)
(Note: Link to original Hebrew article is below the translation)
The biggest fundraiser since the Second Lebanon War: the Canadians are mobilizing in favor of Israel
So far, Canadian Jews have raised an amount of 80 million Canadian dollars that will be channeled as aid to the city of Sderot, the residents of the surrounding area and the country. This is the largest fundraising by the Canadian Jewish Federations for Israel since the Second Lebanon War, when approximately 46 million Canadian dollars were raised
"I was in the Dead Sea on Wednesday, at the hotel where the residents of Sderot were evacuated to. The government gives them what it needs to give, but there is a large gap between that and the needs of the people there, and in the end, someone must pay for them," says Sarah Mali, CEO of "Magbit Canada" in Israel, to Globes. "When we were there, I met a wonderful lady, a resident of Sderot, who said that she had seen Mayor Alon Davidi on television, and that he looked tired, pale and thin. This woman, who lost her home, told to me that 'I just want to make him some soup'. This lady, who lost everything, was not angry or bitter at all. She was only worried about her mayor and wanted to make him soup. You cannot invent such stories. We hear all the testimonies from the survivors when we come to support and give them strength. And I just want to hug everyone and say, "We are with you. The entire Jewish community is rooting for you. We care about you. And we will continue to hug you."
Mali, who has lived in Jerusalem for quite a few years, tells that on this fateful morning, almost 400,000 members of the Jewish community in Canada woke up to a nightmare that reminded many of them of the Holocaust, which they, their parents and grandparents survived. "When the events reached the ears of our brothers in Canada, they were shocked. But the shock has quickly turned into action," she says painfully. "This multi-frontal action was also on the philanthropic level, and they simply opened their hearts to the State of Israel. People with a long-standing history and philanthropic connection with Israel, and with the Jewish people."
Funding target of 500 million dollars
Together the Canadian Jewish community had so far raised 80 million Canadian dollars to aid to the city of Sderot, the residents of the surrounding area and the state.
The Jewish Federations of North America in general (the JFNA) have set a fundraising goal of 500 million dollars for the State of Israel and the southern settlements in particular. The donations will be dedicated for financial aid, for the victims of terrorism, the rehabilitation of the settlements that were damaged and destroyed and the financing of emergency medical equipment, food and supplies to help the evacuees and the injured in cooperation with the Jewish Agency and the Joint.
A large amount will be invested in the rehabilitation of the city of Sderot, which maintains a long-standing relationship with the Canadian Jewish community and the Toronto Federation in particular, which has donated approximately 15 million Canadian dollars to the city over the years, since 2006. This is the largest fundraising by the Canadian Jewish Federations for Israel since the Second Lebanon War, when About 46 million Canadian dollars were raised. The current fundraising was characterized by a broad participation of members across the whole Jewish community, with many families insisting on taking part in the donation.
"People don't sleep at night, they cry with anxiety. But they are also full of determination and solidarity," says Mali. "I know a story of a very wealthy man who used to be a truck driver said that he wants to fly to Israel and volunteer to drive a transport truck. It is especially important for us to be attentive to what happens in the field, to collaborate with our partners such as the Jewish Agency and the Joint, and to be in contact with Keren Hayesod and the Organization of North American Federations. At the same time, we are also very attentive to the evacuation in the north. We keep our finger on the pulse regarding the constantly changing needs, so that we can always help at the right time. Our job is to take care of the recovery of the citizens of Israel and the rehabilitation, resilience, and rebuilding of the communities, and not only in the immediate term. We also think about how an orphaned child will get married in the future and pay mortgage, because our vision is also to support in the long term.
"Shabbat keepers have opened their phones"
Mali says that on that Shabbat, the organization was quick to respond, and that even Shabbat keepers also opened their phones. "They understood that there is something here that undermines the foundations of the holiday and Shabbat. That this is an emergency, and in Canada there are quite a few messengers whose friends and family members were injured or murdered. This is a community that has a history with the Holocaust, there are many Holocaust survivors in Canada, and this resonates with them. the stories that are heard today, we wish to everyone here, and in the rest of the world."
She speaks about another vision that she is trying to promote. "Those who do not have great means, will be able to donate 18 dollars for 18 years. Of course, there will be other events in the news by then, but we must take the energy, love and connection and the understanding that we have no other home. This is the home of the Jewish people. And we want to feel safe in our Jewish home, to feel healthy mentally, emotionally, and socially. The organism of the Jewish people is so painful right now. But I am determined, through philanthropy, to reverse the sorrow and pain and rebuild, so that we will become stronger."
Ctech: "Canadian Jewish community raises $100 million CAD to support Israel"
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/ryveaq7mp
Globes economic journal:
"The biggest fundraiser since the Second Lebanon War: the Canadians are mobilizing in favor of Israel" -
Web2Info - Canadian Jewry is mobilizing for Israel: all the Jewish federations in Canada have raised 100 million dollars since the beginning of the war for the victims of the war and the residents of the south and the north
https://web2info.co.il/ar-2517/
Ynet - The Jewish Federations of North America raised more than NIS 1.5 billion for Israel
https://www.ynet.co.il/judaism/article/byssjvrba
ICE - Fundraising of 100 million dollars: Canadian Jewry for Israel
https://www.ice.co.il/global-news/news/article/985238
The Jewish community in Canada raised 100 million dollars to support Israel – בחדרי חרדים
https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1608787
