Beth Ahabah Stands with Israel
(This page is a work in progress; more resources will be added as they are gathered)
Resources
Jewish Community Federation of Richmond Resources Page (with Israel Emergency Fund)
URJ and Israel: Post-October 7th Updates and Resources
(a collection of resources from ReformJudaism.org)
REFORM MOVEMENT ISRAEL STATEMENT: THE MOMENT WE ARE IN, THE FUTURE WE PRAY FOR
CLICK HERE to watch a recording of the March for Israel (Tues. Nov. 14, 2023)
Is it Antisemitism? If It Is, Now What? Guidance for a Post-October 7th World (including resources and links)
Staying Connected with Our Loved Ones, Even When we Disagree (a few tips from Jewish sources to help maintain loving relationships while disagreeing)
Leading Jewish Organizations and Law Firms Launch Legal Protection Helpline for Campus Antisemitism
Update from the ADL regarding student safety: Any student, family, faculty, or staff member can go to the CALL website or text “CALLhelp” to 51555 to report incidents of antisemitic discrimination, intimidation, harassment, vandalism, or violence that may necessitate legal action.
VCU Students and Staff: click here for information on how to report threats & discrimination to VCU & VCU Health.
How to Talk to Your Children about Israel and Terrorism: A Toolbox (from ReformJudaism.org)
Links with resources for talking to your children from P.J. Library
Message to college students from Rabbi Angela Buchdahl (Central Synagogue, NYC)
Definition of antisemitism (and on the spelling of antisemitism) (from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance)
Some ways to support victims of the terror attack
Jewish Community Federation of Richmond Emergency Fund
Click HERE to donate in general support of Eliav, where the family of Rabbi Beifield and Ina's son, BG, his wife Ilana Kwartin, and their four children live. Eliav needs goods and services to address its immediate needs and provide support for families who have left their homes since the start of the war and come to Eliav. For more information or to donate, please click the link.
Eliav is also raising funds to build a "gymboree" for their children! The cost of building a gymboree is about $15,000.
BG Beifield and the whole Eliav community are grateful for whatever help people can provide toward their goal.
To contribute toward the "gymboree" project, CLICK HERE to the main Eliav fundraising site, and indicate in your donation that it is for the children's shelter.
More information: All public buildings have a protected space (bomb shelter) which is generally an unfriendly room that is used for storage (and emergencies). They want to take the protected room in their kindergarten complex and outfit it with mats and sturdy foam toys so that it can be used as an educational play space, in addition to an emergency safe room. This space would be integrated into the daily schedule of the children, with both morning and afternoon sessions, thus funneling their energy bursts to the gymboree sessions, and keeping them cool in AC on hot days. This space would have significant impact in the children's lives, aid them in acquiring motor skills and developmental and milestones, and contribute to the development of their self-confidence.
Helping MARAM Rabbis: Become a Friend of MARAM (Israel Council of Reform Rabbis)
Reform Rabbis in Israel face enormous challenges serving our congregations and wider Israeli society. Many of our rabbis are consoling numerous bereaved families and providing pastoral care. Many of our congregants are serving in the army in the north and south of Israel, and the anxiety and stress can be overwhelming. After the attack on October 7th, we saw a tremendous outpouring of volunteers in Israeli society. All of our congregations provide support for their members and for non-members such as collecting clothes and organizing food for soldiers and evacuees. Click the link for a message from the URJ about MARAM and how to support them.
Click HERE to donate to Bring Hersh Home – Supporting Hersh Goldberg-Polin and all Hostages Held in Gaza. The Goldberg-Polin family, known to many in the Richmond Jewish community, has organized a team that is working 24/7 in an effort to locate Hersh, secure him immediate access to life-saving medical care, and release him and all his fellow hostages from terrorist captivity in Gaza.
Click HERE to learn what you can do to #BRING_HERSH_HOME.
Click HERE to view a recording of a Dec. 7 conversation with Hersh's parents, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg Polin.
Click HERE to donate in support of the AMEN team of trauma-informed therapists caring for survivors of the Hamas attack on Israel. This is a fundraiser run by the Rabbi of Nava Tehila in Jerusalem (also a longtime personal friend of Cantor Beck-Berman) in support of a full-time healing program for victims of sexual violence in the attacks, with trauma-informed professional therapists providing therapy. People who can get this kind of full-time professional care close to the trauma are known to do better. For more information or to donate, please click the link.
Click HERE to donate to the emergency fund of the Shalva National Crisis Response Center, which is taking in and caring for many refugees. (During normal times, Shalva is the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, dedicated to providing transformative care for individuals with disabilities, empowering their families and promoting social inclusion.)
Click HERE to donate in support of Moshav Netiv HaAasara, the home of Israeli musician Micha Biton, who was unable to join us for the Chanukah concert in 2023, but whom we hope to invite back at a later date.
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