X. Grassroots Tzedakah Funds XI. Immigrants: New Israelis, New Americans XII. The Aftermath of the Shoah-Holocaust

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X. Grassroots Tzedakah Funds

A. THE VA'AD AT JTS ($1,000)

The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York has an excellent program, Va'ad Gemilut Hasadim, which brings together the students, faculty, and administration for hands-on Mitzvah work as well as to raise and distribute Tzedakah money for many different causes. The Va'ad directs its work toward programs in Israel, the United States and the local community.

[Va'ad Gemilut Hasadim, 3080 Broadway, #634 Brush, New York, NY 10027, Attn: Rabbi Carol Davidson, 212-678-8916 fax: 864-0109, vaad_slo@jtsa.edu, www.jtsa.edu/facstud/vaad/.]

B. KAVOD($500)
Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback started Kavod about eight years ago. It is a very low-overhead Tzedakah fund that supports many projects in the United States and in Israel.

[Kavod, 8907 Farnam Court, Omaha, NE 68114, Attn: Rabbi Josh Zweiback, phone: 402-397-3906, kavod1@aol.com, www.kavod.com.]

C. PHILADELPHIA ($100)
The Female Hebrew Benevolent Society (FHBS), founded in 1819 by several women from Congregation Mikveh Israel, is an integral part of the Philadelphia Jewish community. It is committed to providing funds for Jewish women who find themselves in serious economic need. Food, rent, and health care are but some of the issues they address. Each woman is treated with respect and concern. 100% of donated funds go to women with these emergency needs.

[Female Hebrew Benevolent Society, 2125 Delancey Place., Philadelphia, PA 19103, Attn: Eileen Sklaroff, phone: 215-545-3841, e-mail: tikkun36@aol.com.]

D. YAD CHESSED ($1,000)
Robert Housman's organization works on the front lines, providing food, shelter and clothing to many of Boston's poor Jews.

[Yad Chessed, 46 Columbia St., Brookline, MA 02446, Attn: Robert Housman, 617-738-8449, bobh@csports.com.]

E. TZEDAKAH FUND, INC. ($200)
Stan and Betty Mayersohn's Phoenix-based Tzedakah Fund, Inc. distributes much-needed funding to a wide array of domestic and international programs. Again, all is done with very little overhead so that the money raised can have its greatest impact.

[Tzedakah Fund, Inc., Stan and Betty Mayersohn, 7840 E. Camelback Rd., #301, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, phone: 480-945-5354, smayerso@concentric.net.]

F. FRIENDS OF MAN ($360)
Stuart and Ellen Witkin offer direct, often life-saving measures to people with serious needs in the Denver area. No overhead, no bureaucracy - just good work.

[Friends of Man, 5594 South Prince Street, Littleton, CO 80120-1126, Attn: Stuart or Ellen Witkin, 303-337-4377.]

XI. Immigrants: New Israelis, New Americans

A. NACOEJ ($23,600)
Barbara Ribakove Gordon, the Executive Director of The North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry, has been involved with the Ethiopian migration to Israel from its earliest days. Indeed, she even flew on some of those very first flights to Ethiopia. NACOEJ continues to work on behalf of both the Ethiopian Jews who have already settled in Israel, as well as with those who have not yet been given permission to emigrate. In Ethiopia, NACOEJ provides all manner of basic services to people living in extreme poverty. In Israel, they conduct excellent after-school programs as well as offer academic support to many people. Our donations have been used to provide thousands of pounds of food in Ethiopia, special tutoring needs in Israel, and for the purchase of their beautiful hand-embroidered Challah covers and Tallis bags.

[NACOEJ, 132 Nassau St., #412, NY, NY 10038, Attn: Barbara Ribakove Gordon, 212-233-5200, fax: 233-5243, NACOEJ@aol.com, www.nacoej.org.]

B. WELCOME HOME ($22,000)
Walk down any street in Israel today, and you cannot miss the fact that large numbers of people from many different countries have adopted Israel as their homeland. The difficulties faced by these new Olim-ohkug-Immigrants are considerable. Language, customs, bureaucracy, health care are all major obstacles that must be overcome in order to achieve successful absorption.

For many years the Ya'akov Maimon Volunteers have worked on the front lines making it possible for the immigrants to integrate successfully into Israeli society. Our friend, Joël (pronounced "Yo-ayl") Dorkam leads this very dedicated group. To us, he is a Giant of a man; one who has selflessly dedicated his life to helping others.

[Joël Dorkam, Ya'akov Maimon Volunteers, Kibbutz Tzuba, Doar Na Haray Yehuda, Israel, phone: 02-534-7871, cellphone: 052-428-560, fax: 02-534-7955. In the U.S., contact Shirley Lowenstein, 15a Stony Run, Kingston, NY 12401, 914-338-3101. Tax-deductible contributions through PEF-Israel Endowments, Section II:A. ]

C. THE HUMAN TOUCH ($9,500)
Alice Jonah is a gem! The work she performs on a daily basis is indeed life-saving. Based in the old Diplomat Hotel on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Alice and a small group of dedicated social workers tend to the needs of an aging (primarily) Russian population. These are the Olim who never "made it" in Israel's fast-paced society. Their advanced age, health problems, or inability to learn a new language keep them from successfully integrating into their new surroundings. Interestingly, when you speak with many of them, they insist that their current circumstances, no matter how meager they might be, are infinitely better than what they had in Russia. We will never forget the words of one old man, living in his cramped, one-room apartment - formerly a hotel room. His greatest joy was the fact that he could get up and walk to synagogue three times a day; something his native country would never permit.

With Alice's help, many of these people's day-to-day needs are met. Be it arranging an appointment with a doctor or navigating Israel's numbing bureaucracy, Alice provides kindness and gentle assistance to everyone. The money that we give her is used judiciously to make life just a bit easier.

[Alice Jonah, Efrata St. 34/10, Jerusalem, phone: 02-672-1548, effry@zsoft.com.]

D. EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ($2,000)*
Keren Hanan Aynor is dedicated to fulfilling the mission of Hanan Aynor, an Israeli government official who worked tirelessly for the immigration and resettlement of Ethiopian Jews. Their work includes educational programming as well as scholarships which enable these young Olim to prosper in their lives. Our contribution was used for scholarships and other needs.

[Keren Hanan Aynor Sara Aynor, Director:, 3 Alharizi St., Jerusalem 92421, Phone: 02-563-9010, 02-563-9405 (h), fax: 02-567-1936. Contributions through The New Israel Fund, 1625 K St. NW, Washington, DC 20006, with a note: "Recommended for Keren Hanan Aynor."]

E. KEREN KLITAT ALIYAH NEVE OROT ($1,500)
Our friend, Rabbi Jonathon Porath, has been working with this organization since the early days of Russian migration to Israel. They continue to provide for many of the needs of these Olim as well as for the more recent Ethiopian immigrants.

[Keren Klitat Aliya Neve Orot, Rabbi Jonathan Porath, Nerot Shabbat St. 623/10, Ramot Alef, Jerusalem, 02-586-8757, fax: 02-561-0491, jporath@jdc.org.il.]

XII. The Aftermath of the Shoah-Holocaust

A. THE BLUE CARD ($8,000)
For the thousands of Shoah survivors who are living in poverty, The Blue Card is an irreplaceable resource. Their funds are used on a daily basis to provide simple and essential relief for this very fragile segment of our Jewish population. It is disturbing that those who lived through the horrors of that time are now, in their later years, plagued by poverty and insecurity. The Blue Card's work is incredibly important.

[The Blue Card, 1 W. 34th St., #404, NY, NY 10001, 212-724-0580, Attn: Florence Smeraldi, bluecard@erols.com.]

B. THE JEWISH FOUNDATION FOR THE RIGHTEOUS ($1,000)
The lives of many Jews during the Holocaust were saved by the courageous actions of non-Jews who jeopardized their own safety. Today the Foundation supports more than 1600 aged and needy rescuers across the world. They also use the rescuers' stories to teach the lessons of the Shoah to teachers. Call them to bring one of these very special resource people to your community. Their stories are profound.

[Jewish Foundation for The Righteous, 165 E. 56th St., NY, NY 10022, Attn: Harvey Schulweis, 212-727-9955, toll-free phone: 888-421-1221, fax: 212-421-1881, jfr@jfr.org, www.jfr.org.]
 

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