World Jewish Relief is committed to playing its part in helping Israelis rebuild their lives. Following October 7th, we began working alongside several local partners responding to immense needs across Israel. We are very proud that, through our partnership with the Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC), we have supported thousands of people, providing thousands of hours of therapy and trauma resilience training to psychologists. Supporting vulnerable Jews in need is an essential component of our mission, and this vital work continues.
And following attacks from Iran in June 2025, we scaled up our work with ITC to provide essential emotional first aid, hotlines for therapists, and trauma-informed training to first responders and social services to enhance their professional capabilities and resilience during these incredibly troubling times.
In recognition of the impact on children, we are currently strengthening resilience within schools in Northern Israel, where the relentless strain of war, security threats, and deepening socioeconomic instability has left them struggling to function. Teachers are exhausted, students are anxious, and entire communities are carrying the weight of unhealed trauma. In partnership with ITC, we are providing the necessary tools, training, and community-driven strategies to help children heal and thrive in the wake of prolonged security threats and trauma.
The psychological toll on Israelis continues to be immense. Alongside our work with ITC, we are proud to be partnering with MOSHE, a leading Israeli organization working to reduce suicide rates, which have risen dramatically since October 7th. Together, we are rolling out proven, community-based interventions designed to prevent suicide and offer critical mental health support.
On February 28, sirens sounded once again as violence escalated in the Middle East. The conflict, which has spread across the region, has seen many Israelis taking shelter once more as missiles and drones are fired from across its borders. We continue to work with the ITC, who have entered “emergency mode.” While needs across Israel are broad, their reports show that schools are in need of much more focused interventions. For example, schools along the northern border, facing missile fire from Hezbollah, are experiencing particular strain and frustration. After only recently returning home and beginning to regain some sense of normalcy, many students and staff now find themselves once again displaced, scattered across the country, and disconnected from the school framework that helps hold them together as a community.
In response, ITC has created a dedicated space for school staff to come together, share their very real concerns, and receive practical tools for coping with the current situation. ITC is also supporting hundreds of evacuees with psychological first aid and operating emergency hotlines to help people cope with heightened anxiety, stress, and trauma. At a time of immense fear, instability, and uncertainty across Israel and the Middle East, we are monitoring the situation closely.
At the same time, while Israelis suffer, so do many thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is dire. In June 2024, after carrying out extensive due diligence, we began working with a trusted global humanitarian responder to support healthcare services for women and babies in Gaza, with the support of COGAT (the Israeli Government authority responsible for managing civilian affairs under military responsibility and overseeing humanitarian assistance in Gaza).
COGAT is an arm of the Israel Defense Forces that uniquely reports directly to the Ministry of Defense. It is mandated to coordinate all civilian issues in Gaza and the West Bank between the Government of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces, bilateral partners, international organizations, diplomats, and the Palestinian Authority, among other counterparts. It operates under fully approved Israeli government policy.
We are pleased to be continuing this important work and extending our support to a trusted Israeli humanitarian organization, IsrAID, who we have worked alongside for many years – to procure critical medicines and medical supplies for onward delivery to three COGAT approved humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza.
As a 90-year-old Jewish humanitarian agency, our job is to assist communities in crisis, and our Jewish values guide all our work. We are grateful for the ongoing support of this critical work from all the mainstream communal bodies including Orthodox, Progressive and Sephardi synagogue movements in the UK, and key communal leaders including the Chief Rabbi.
It is an extremely troubling time for so many, with conflict still raging and the tragedy of October 7 continuing to cast huge shadows over the Jewish community. We stand alongside our community—in Israel, the U.K., and around the globe – as we mourn the loss of all those who have been murdered and anxiously await the release of the remaining hostages. We can only hope for better times ahead, and we yearn for a peaceful resolution for all those suffering. We know there is so much more to do in Israel and in Gaza – and we will continue to do our part. In these very challenging times, we thank you for your ongoing support.