Citing ‘the Jewish imperative’ to act, UJA-Federation pledges $1m for Gaza aid

JTA – The UJA-Federation of New York will send $1 million (R17.7 million) to an Israeli humanitarian group providing aid to civilians in Gaza, the federation’s chief executive announced on Friday, 8 August.

The funds will go to IsraAID, Israel’s largest nongovernmental aid organisation, to supply food, medicine, and water filtration systems for displaced Gazans. IsraAID has traditionally operated in disaster zones abroad, from earthquake relief in Turkey to aid for Ukrainian refugees, but since 7 October 2023 has expanded its work to Israel and now into Gaza.

In a letter to the community, UJA Chief Executive Eric Goldstein condemned Hamas for holding hostages, obstructing aid, and provoking the conflict, but said that the Jewish community is nevertheless compelled to help alleviate the suffering of civilians in Gaza.

“What many of us feel is a confluence of unbearable grief, anger, and the moral imperative – the Jewish imperative – to act,” Goldstein wrote. “Not everyone agrees on what should be done, or how. There is anguish and outrage around every perspective. We must hold tight to what has always anchored the Jewish people: the belief that all human life is sacred.”

IsraAID said it had already reached more than 100 000 people in Gaza through partnerships with the Israel Defense Forces’ Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories and international agencies.

The pledged donation is far larger than any previously announced aid contributions to Gaza by Jewish groups. Earlier this month, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) said it would give $25 000 (R443 458) to the Archdiocese of New York to aid in repairs of Gaza’s Holy Family Church, which was damaged by an Israeli strike. Three people were killed and others injured in the incident.

The announcement comes as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, and as some Jews have called for Jewish leaders to take a more assertive stance against it.

The United Nations warned this week of “starvation, pure and simple”, reporting that 98 children have died from acute malnutrition since last October, 37 of them in the past month. Aid deliveries have slowed to a fraction of prewar levels amid continued Israeli military operations. Israel contests reports of starvation, and says it has expanded aid entering Gaza substantially since last month.

The AJC’s announcement noted Israel’s explanation that the damage was caused by “stray ammunition” from a nearby operation, and that the church wasn’t targeted. The gift marked a rare, possibly unprecedented, donation by a mainstream United States Jewish group toward Gazan Palestinians during wartime, and was framed by the AJC as a gesture to sustain Jewish-Catholic relations.

Israel’s security cabinet is weighing a plan to conquer Gaza fully and hand control to Arab forces, while US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal to avert the operation. Protests have erupted in Tel Aviv and other cities in recent days, calling for renewed negotiations and an end to the war.

Internationally, momentum is growing toward recognition of Palestinian statehood. On Monday, Australia became the latest country to support recognition, saying it would do so at next month’s UN General Assembly, a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticised as “shameful” and that some Jewish organisations have described as rewarding Hamas. New Zealand said it may follow suit.