This fall, CJP provided an $80,000 grant from its Israel Emergency Fund to Nefesh B’Nefesh (Soul to Soul), an Israeli organization that supports North Americans who make aliyah to Israel by helping them find jobs, communities, and a holistic Jewish life.

Nefesh B’Nefesh has specific programs to help medical professionals and lone soldiers acclimate to life in Israel; it also offers flights to parents visiting lone soldiers through its “Operation Hug” program, something especially crucial now.

Today, Nefesh B’Nefesh offers essential mental health support, housing, and other basic needs to lone soldiers fighting or called for active duty in the current conflict. The organization also offers relief to immigrants in distress, support for families of lone soldiers, and coordinates arrival and acclimation of volunteer doctors to strengthen Israel’s health care system.

“We wanted to support lone soldiers—especially during this time when many volunteered to help during the war—but have no social or family support when they’re not in active duty,” says Ariel Libhaber, senior director of global partnerships at CJP.

Currently, 42 lone soldiers from Boston benefit from these funds. This includes Newton’s JJ Berlove, 22, who has served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) paratroopers for a year-and-a-half in Gaza, after spending several months at Yeshivat Har Etzion.

“After he’d been there just a few months, he felt he should serve in the army. That was not our decision, certainly, but he felt strongly about it, and we respected that,” says his father, David.

David is especially grateful to Friends of the IDF, which is jointly supported by Nefesh B’Nefesh. JJ was able to come home briefly for Rosh Hashanah last year, thanks to their logistical efforts.

“They just stepped in. Within 24 hours of our contacting FIDF, he had a ticket home. They were amazing—warm, welcoming, and easy to contact. They provide a lot of guidance, and they’re really there to help the families,” David says.

But JJ returned to Israel from Newton on Oct. 6, making that quick visit home all the more precious.

“On the one hand, we’re very proud of him. On the other hand, of course we’re concerned for obvious reasons. Our level of concern is very different now than it was in September, when we were planning to bring him home for Rosh Hashanah. He has seen a lot of things that boys in Newton, Massachusetts, don’t ever see. He’s been through a lot, and we’re concerned for his physical and emotional well-being, but he seems to be doing great,” his dad says.

Eventually, David says, JJ would like to become an aeronautical engineer. In the meantime, his father is grateful to Friends of the IDF for supporting him while so far away.

“What’s really helped us has been knowing that there are a network of people who care and who support lone soldiers. It’s made an enormous difference. For instance, his backpack was on a helicopter on Oct. 7. JJ was flown from Jerusalem to the edge of Gaza. It was already evening. They jumped off the helicopter. They were told, ‘We don’t have time to even unload your stuff. You just need to go into action right now. Your stuff will follow,’” he recalls.

But JJ’s stuff never quite followed, and the IDF wasn’t in a position to replace it.

“But you know what? Other people outside the army said: What can I get you? One person who owns a store gave him a pair of great boots. Another just brought him a backpack. The level of support he’s gotten in Israel has been tremendous,” David says.

Support CJP so we can continue meeting the needs of the Jewish community in Greater Boston and abroad.