With the recent wave of terror attacks in Israel, tensions are high. On behalf of Federations, JFNA's Israel office director Rebecca Caspi made a shiva call to the Henkin family, who lost two family members in a terrorist attack. You can read her response here. To read about the attacks see these articles:

Arab assailant attacked an Israeli police officer with a knife, Palestinian stabbed and wounded two ultra-Orthodox men walking, and an Arab woman attempted to stab a police officer

To learn more about the rising tensions, join Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat for a teleconference on events in Israel after the escalation of violence on Wednesday, October 14 at 12:30 pm EST. The call in number is 1-800-399-0118.

 

Every day, we learn of the worsening plights of refugees crossing the dangerous Mediterranean Sea in flimsy dinghies or unsafe fishing boats in hopes of a better life in Europe. Through the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (JCDR), Jewish organizations have been quietly funding relief efforts to support Syrian refugees for the past two years. JFNA (Jewish Federations of North America) is a standing member of JCDR, which provides the Federation community with an opportunity to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe. This reflects our ongoing emergency response efforts and extensive network of global partnerships that provide assistance during different types of crises in Israel, in Jewish communities around the world such as in Ukraine and France, and in humanitarian emergencies such as this.

http://www.jdc.org/jcdr/where-we-work/syrian-refugees.html

 

Surging Aliyah from Ukraine means a 50% year-to-date increase in immigration from that country to Israel compared to the same period in 2014. Federation continues to raise funds to help thousands of Ukrainian Jews who depend on us for urgent assistance amid ongoing conflict. With winter fast approaching, their needs will only increase.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/ukrainian-aliya-triples-in-first-quarter-of-2015/

 

Ride for the Living is an annual fundraising event under the patronage of the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich. The 55-mile bicycle ride from Auschwitz to JCC Krakow is a trip to not only remember Jewish history, but to celebrate and support the miraculous rebirth of Jewish life in Poland today. In 2015, 85 cyclists raised $150,000 to support the Holocaust survivors at the 550-member JCC Krakow, of which Federation partner JDC is a founding organization and ongoing supporter.
http://www.friendsofjcckrakow.org/ride-for-the-living/