Zeev Bielski, right, chairman of the Jewish Agency, met in Jerusalem last year with Lior Kalfa, head of the Gush Katif settlers’ committee, to discuss support and relief efforts for the 8,800 Gaza evacuees. Photo by Sasson Tiram/JAFI
February 14, 2008
United Jewish Communities and North American Jewish federations are steering an additional $715,000 to support educational, economic, and community development programs for former Jewish residents of the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria in the West Bank.
The sum is part of a larger package of $2.6 million set aside last year to meet the needs of those relocated from these areas.
Of the amount just allocated, $608,000 will underwrite community-building initiatives, including counseling for families, children, and adolescents and financial training for new and prospective homeowners.
The remaining $106,000 will be directed toward educational initiatives, including purchasing equipment for kindergartens, day care centers, schools, and youth clubs. Additionally, funds will continue supporting a program to train teachers to help children deal with lingering trauma and feelings of loss.
Approximately 8,800 Israelis are now counted as former residents of Northern Samaria and the Gaza Strip, according to Israel’s Interior Ministry.
United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey participated in raising the funds for the national system. In addition, UJC MetroWest has been directly funding programs for the Gaza, or Gush Katif, evacuees since the first week of the evacuation.
This year, UJC MetroWest is providing $20,000 to the Gush Katif Committee to pay for community coordinators in each of the towns where evacuees are now living.
“We’ve visited with the evacuees in their caravillas and heard firsthand about their desire for permanent homes, about the stresses on them, their teenagers, and their younger children,” said Leslie Dannin Rosenthal, chair of UJC MetroWest’s Israel and Overseas Committee. “They want to again be contributing to Israel’s vitality and economy. We are glad that our direct efforts and our participation in the national UJC system can be of assistance to the evacuees and look forward to visiting with them again in their permanent homes in Israel.”
Programs are implemented by UJC’s overseas partner agencies, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the Israel Trauma Coalition.
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