Recently, Jewish National Fund-USA hosted a series of 15 intimate gatherings across New England to educate community members about the inhospitable situation on the Gaza border and how the organization is supporting the region’s rebuilding and resilience efforts.
The events, which reached more than 700 people all together, featured guest speaker Adele Reimer. An American-born Israeli living in Kibbutz Nirim near Gaza since 1975, Reimer is a passionate advocate for Israel’s southern border region and founder of the 8,000-member Facebook group “Life on the Border with Gaza,” which provides firsthand updates to a global audience. As an advocate for her community, she remains dedicated to her civilian public diplomacy, considering it her best tool for defending her country, region, and family.
Reimer has also worked closely with Jewish National Fund-USA on initiatives that include an art shelter decoration project. Experienced in hundreds of rocket attacks, she’s a frequent blogger for The Times of Israel and an international speaker, sharing her life on Israel’s frontier.
“It is not fair to call this post-traumatic stress syndrome,” she said in a recent statement. “It is a daily, ongoing stress. Our children suffer from nightmares, bedwetting, refusal to go to bed at night, crawling into bed with parents. Many children, and even some adults, are immobilized with fear and refuse to leave the house. Every Friday, we brace ourselves. We hear the Tzeva Adom [Red Alert warning siren] several times a day, and we don’t know if it’s a missile coming to our house, to our school, or signaling the beginning of yet another war.”
In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre, Jewish National Fund-USA launched its Israel Resilience Campaign to provide critical assistance in supporting the evacuation and relocation of tens of thousands of residents in Israel’s north and south while providing thousands more with housing, food, clothing, education, trauma therapy, as well as firefighting and protective equipment for civil defense. The campaign has raised over $60 million.
The Israel Resilience Campaign has also evolved to include the organization’s bold and visionary plan called “Livnot B’Yachad – Build Together,” which is working to bring residents back to communities impacted on Oct. 7 by repairing, rehabilitating, and renovating damaged towns.
“We didn’t wait for the phone to ring after Oct. 7, we reached out,” said Jewish National Fund-USA Boston executive director Sara Hefez. “We asked the mayors and community leaders what they needed and moved into action—wiring funds, delivering supplies, organizing evacuations. This wasn’t just logistics; it was trust in motion, built from decades of deep relationships with the people of these regions.”
For more information about Jewish National Fund-USA or to learn about upcoming events in Boston, visit jnf.org or contact Sara Hefez at SHefez@jnf.org or 617-423-0999 ext. 811.
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