Photo Credit: Mati Milstein for NIF
As the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorated last year, NIF’s global network took the unusual step of raising funds to help feed innocent people in Gaza. We identified two international aid organizations who were best positioned to deliver this support: the World Central Kitchen and the International Rescue Committee.
Around the holiday of Passover, more than 2,000 donors from the United States, Israel, Canada, the U.K. and Germany contributed to the campaign a total of more than $1.5 million USD — including 300 donors in Canada who gave $54,000 CAD. This was a departure for us. For more than 40 years, we have raised funds to support Israeli civil society organizations. Never before had NIF raised and distributed this level of funding for programs outside of Israel.
“The power of these dollars is manifold,” explained NIF International CEO Daniel Sokatch. “They will help feed the hungry on the ground in Gaza. And here in the U.S. they give expression to the values of the vast majority of American Jews, who believe that no one, in this world of abundance, should starve. We believe that all children — in Gaza, and in Tel Aviv — should be free. We believe compassion, not military might, is the only way Israelis and Palestinians can live together in peace.”
Shira Ben-Sasson, associate director of NIF in Israel, echoed this sentiment. “NIF’s campaign is not only good for Gazans and good for Israel, it represents the best of Jewish tradition. This food and these supplies are lifesaving for Gaza’s innocent civilians – especially mothers and children. Bringing food into Gaza also means some of it may reach the hostages, including some I deeply care for. People have died trying to provide this food, and now NIF is doing its part.”
Tunde Wackman, the chief development officer for World Central Kitchen, expressed his appreciation for NIF’s effort: “We’re humbled and honored to be the recipient of such incredible generosity. From all of us at World Central Kitchen, thank you for enabling our work in Gaza. We resumed our operations on the ground recently and have already served over 2 million meals. We are determined to get as much food into Gaza as possible — whether by air, land, or sea — and NIF donors’ contributions will help with those efforts.”