4 | JUNE 6 • 2024
J
N

A

complaint, (or
maybe frustration is a
better word), I often
hear from our very dedicated
and extremely passionate lay
leaders is that the general pub-
lic is not aware
of the good work
that Federation
dollars do in
Israel.
People don’t
know that the
$9 million
Federation allocates to Israel
& Overseas (I & O) supports
dozens of programs and thou-
sands of people all around the
world but, especially, in Israel.
People do not know that,
with an eye to the future,
the Gertzman Committee very
intentionally chose Shared

Society as the primary focus
area of this year’s grants. To
learn more about it, read
jewishdetroit.org/photo-
israel-a-2024-2025-abraham-
gertzman-fund-supported-
program.
Recently, Israel21c ran a
story titled “The 48,” which
introduces the reader to 48
changemakers in Israel. As I
was reading through, I was
fascinated to find I could con-
nect the dots between Detroit
and many, many, many of the
people spotlighted.
To highlight a few:
Yaron Waksman of the
nonprofit HaGal Sheli (My
Wave). This is a program that
Detroit has proudly supported
for a very long time. Yaron is a
very good friend of ours, and
he has a soft spot for Detroit,
which was an earlier champi-
on of their work with troubled
teens. We also recently gave
them an Israel Emergency
Grant for the way they pivoted
to work with over 1,000 vic-
tims of Oct. 7.
Israel’s Reserve Soldiers. In
the days after Oct. 7, many
young Detroiters and, of
course, many of our Israeli

friends, like former Shlichim
Eviatar Baskis, Yiftah Leket
and ShinShin Michal Neuman,
entered into the IDF Reserves.
Federation and Foundation
presidents, Gary Torgow and
Michael Berger, and CEO
Steven Ingber leapt into action
as well, directing yet unraised
emergency dollars to support
these units that were up and
running immediately with-
out any necessary provisions
(boots, jackets, cell phone
chargers, bottled water, etc.)
Dr. Khalil Bakly — a res-
ident of Nof Hagalil, one of
our three Partnership 2Gether
municipalities — is also a
longtime social and political
activist who is advocating for
a shared Arab-Jewish life more
intently than ever after Oct. 7.
Brothers & Sisters in Arms
(now Brothers and Sisters
for Israel and Hostages &
Missing Families Forum), both

received Israel of Emergency
Funds and both were visited
by our solidarity missions.
Danielle Abraham from
ReGrow Israel, Talia Levanon
from Israel Trauma Coalition,
Joseph Gitler from Leket and
Mohammad Darawshe from
Gavat Haviva — all organiza-
tions Detroit has supported.
Also worth mentioning,
another one of “The 48” is Ella
Rose Azaria, spotlighted for
her work as a certified mas-
ter swimming coach to help
Israeli internal refugees cope
with trauma and anxiety, is a
former Detroiter.
It is our mission to continue
to connect these dots for you,
our Detroit Jewish community,
so that you can learn about
where your Israel & Overseas
dollars are going and the good
work they are accomplishing.
As a supporter of the Jewish
Federation of Detroit, you
should be proud of the work that
you are contributing to as we
strive to take care of needs and
build a vibrant Jewish future.

Jennifer Levine is senior director

at Federation’s Israel & Overseas

Department.

essay
Your Federation Dollars at Work in Israel

Jennifer
Levine

PURELY COMMENTARY

Solidarity Mission participants with IDF Reservists
Yiftah Leket, Michal Neuman and Nina Yahalomi

ABOVE LEFT: Yaron Waksman
of HaGal Sheli chats with Betsy
Heuer as he takes the I & O
Allocations Committee to the
beach for a surfboard photo shoot.
LEFT: Federation CEO Steven
Ingber at Brothers & Sisters for
Israel headquarters.