Outpouring of support: global Jewry one year on

Chaim Weizmann, who was to become Israel’s first president, was once asked why Jews insisted on settling in Palestine when there were so many other countries in the British empire that would be easier to make their home.

“That’s like my asking you why you drove 20 miles to visit your mother last Sunday when there are so many old ladies living on your street,” Weizmann answered.

There has been nothing easy about Israel’s 76 years of existence, and this past year has been more difficult than any in most memories.

One year on from the attacks of 7 October 2023, Israel remains engaged in a war on several fronts. Iran, which we should remind ourselves shares no border with the Jewish state, fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles into Israel on 1 October to send Israeli citizens nationwide into shelters and safe rooms just a day before they were to celebrate the start of a new year. Antisemitism has surged across the world to levels not seen since the Holocaust, presenting a clear and present danger to many Jewish communities. And, of course, 101 Israelis remain in Hamas captivity, with each passing day giving a little less hope that they will ever return safely to their families.

Yet, this commemoration falling almost poetically between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the 10 days traditionally reserved for reflection and introspection, provides an opportunity to take stock of our collective response as a global Jewish community. Although we must be clear-eyed about the unprecedented challenges before us, we should allow ourselves a measure of pride and a moment of sombre satisfaction as to how we have met this defining moment in the history of our people.

Since 7 October, more than 30 000 Jews from around the world have made aliya. Jewish Agency offices also report a significant increase in the opening of files, the first step in the process leading someone moving to Israel. Thirty-one percent of the new olim are between the ages of 18 and 35, and an additional 20% are younger than 17 years old.

This year has also been marked by a tremendous outpouring of support for Israel from every corner of the Jewish world. This unprecedented generosity has allowed The Jewish Agency for Israel to assist hundreds of thousands of Israelis in their hour of need. With the donations given both directly to us and through our partners like Keren Hayesod and The Jewish Federations of North America, we have provided grants to more than 10 000 Israeli victims of terror; given 83 million shekels (R380 million) in small business grants to Israeli reservists; aided 14 000 disadvantaged young Israeli teenagers; supported 2 200 lone soldiers; and provided many more services to the elderly, new olim, the Druze community, and many other sectors of Israeli society.

Consider The Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror. This is our commitment to provide immediate financial assistance within 24-48 hours of the attack and long-term trauma and financial support if needed to every victim of terror in Israel regardless of race, religion, or background. The fund was actually established during the second intifada, and aided nearly 9 000 recipients before 2023. Since 7 October, the number of recipients has more than doubled.

I have had the privilege of meeting more than two dozen recipients of aid from the fund. What always strikes me is that they rarely remember the amount of money they were given. Some, but not many, remember where the money was spent during those foggy days after suffering from the attack and the loss of loved ones. But nearly every one of them can recite word for word the speech that they heard from the Jewish Agency employee who presented them with the support. “This isn’t from the Jewish Agency. This is from Jews from around the world, from the United States, South America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia, and we’re standing with you at this time.”

Finally, beyond aliya and financial support, global Jewry has found countless additional ways to express its solidarity with Israel. The Jewish Agency’s thousands of shlichim (Israeli emissaries) are working with Jewish communities from more than 66 countries to support Israel during this crisis. From rallies to missions to meetings with government officials and other interlocutors, the global Jewish community hasn’t approached this level of mobilisation since at least 1973.

It goes without saying that the act of showing solidarity with Israel is not an easy one and doesn’t come without risks. Yet, despite all the pressure and an understandable desire to lay low during this tempest, the global Jewish community has refused to be silent. And it’s being noticed in Israel more than ever before. Indeed, many Israelis who had previously not thought very much about global Jewry now realise the important advocates and allies that we are. The day 7 October was a horrible date, but it was a clarifying one, and for the first in a long time, there’s a unique opportunity for connections between Israelis and the rest of global Jewry.

Perhaps before 7 October, many of us in world Jewry were guilty of making a mistake that our parents and grandparents would never have made: we took Israel’s existence for granted. As we gather in our respective synagogues on the holiest day of the year and ask G-d to forgive us for our sins against Him and our fellow human beings, let’s resolve never to make that mistake again.

• Dan Elbaum is head of North America at The Jewish Agency for Israel, and the president and chief executive of Jewish Agency International Development.