The Jewish Agency is launching the Roaring Lion Fund to provide emergency assistance to victims of missile attacks from Iran, thanks to donations from the Jewish Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod, Haruach Hayisraelit, and additional donors. The assistance will include immediate emergency grants for families affected by the missile barrages and, later on, support programs aimed at strengthening the emotional resilience of those impacted. The fund is expected to total tens of millions of shekels, and it has already begun operating in coordination with the relevant authorities and local municipalities.
The emergency grants will include immediate financial assistance for bereaved families who lost their loved ones in the deadly attacks, for individuals moderately or seriously injured who were hospitalized as a result of a direct missile strike, and for families who lost their homes due to the attacks and whose residences were declared unfit for living by the authorities. Each family found eligible will receive an emergency grant of NI 4,000, which will be transferred directly to their bank account shortly after the relevant authorities provide the necessary information.
Those affected do not need to take any action - the Jewish Agency will receive all the required details from the authorized bodies and will transfer the financial assistance directly to the bank accounts of those eligible.
The immediate assistance is intended to help victims cope with the initial aftermath and provide a rapid response to urgent needs resulting from the attacks. The Jewish Agency’s fund will operate in the spirit of mutual responsibility within the Jewish people and expresses the solidarity of Jewish communities in the Diaspora with Israel and its residents amid the complex security reality.
In addition to the immediate financial assistance, the Jewish Agency will offer programs aimed at strengthening the emotional resilience of victims of the missile attacks, through individual support as well as workshops and group programs. These programs will be carried out in coordination with the relevant local authorities, which will help identify eligible participants and invite them to join the Jewish Agency’s resilience support framework.
Immediately after the outbreak of Operation Roaring Lion, the Jewish Agency opened an emergency situation room in order to provide comprehensive support to the various communities it supports, including thousands of new immigrants living in absorption centers across the country, immigrants participating in youth programs and lone immigrant soldiers, thousands of elderly residents in Amigour retirement homes, and thousands of young people from the Diaspora currently in Israel through the Masa organization and other programs. This is in addition to the work of hundreds of the organization’s emissaries, who bring the Israeli story to communities around the world while simultaneously strengthening Jewish communities facing threats of terrorism and antisemitism abroad.
Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog: “In these challenging days, the heart of the Jewish people is here in Israel. With the families who lost what was most precious to them, with the wounded, and with those whose homes were destroyed in a moment. In these hours, we are tested through our actions. Through comfort rooted in the continued rebuilding of Zion. The Jewish Agency’s ‘Roaring Lion’ Fund was established in order to reach people immediately, extend a helping hand, and ease the pain even slightly. The fund is a profound expression of the mutual responsibility that binds us together - an embrace from an entire people that has inscribed unconditional love on its banner.”
Jewish Agency CEO Yehuda Setton: “Immediately after the outbreak of the war, we opened the Jewish Agency’s emergency operations center, and thanks to the mobilization of Jewish communities in the Diaspora we are able to provide a rapid response to families affected by the missile attacks, alongside support for new immigrants, young people from the Diaspora, lone soldiers, and the youth we accompany both in emergencies and in routine times. The spirit of mutual responsibility of the Jewish people reveals its full strength precisely in moments like these, sending a clear message to the residents of Israel: You are not alone!”