The Israel Hamas War Resources

We will be updating this list frequently with the most up-to-date information.

The Bronfman Fellowship is a community of 1400+ Israelis and North Americans. We are shocked and heartbroken by the recent events in Israel, and we are holding our Israeli community close during this tragic time.

Jump to:
Writings by Bronfman Amitim & Bogrim
Donations & Advocacy
Information & Educational Resources
Mental Health Resources

1. Writings by Bronfman Bogrim & Amitim

• Spring 2024 Booklet: “War of Young People: Voices and Perspectives from Emerging Israeli Leaders – First-Person Accounts From Young Israelis, October 2023 to February 2024“
• 10/17/23 Email – Sharing their stories: Read first-person accounts by Bogrim
• 10/25/23 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 2: Voices of two young Israeli alumni
• 11/3/23  Email – Sharing their stories, Part 3: Voices of Young Israelis
• 11/17/23 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 4: Voices of Young Israelis
• 11/24/23 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 5: Voices of Young Israelis
• 12/8/23 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 6: Voices of Young Israelis
• 12/15/23 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 7: Voices of Young Israelis
• 12/22/23 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 8: Voices of Young Israelis
• 12/29/23 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 9: Voices of Young Israelis
• 1/5/23 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 10: Voices of Young Israelis
• 1/12/24 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 11: Voices of Young Israelis
• 1/21/24 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 12: Voices of Young Israelis
• 1/28/24 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 13: Voices of Young Israelis
• 2/11/24 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 14: Voices of Young Israelis
• 2/18/24 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 15: Reflections on returning to “regular” life after 120 days on reserve duty
• 3/1/24 Email – Sharing their stories, Part 16: “There is no parent for this space; I see a new, upside-down world”
• 3/8/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 17: “Art obligates me to hope” 
• 3/15/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 18: A principal reflects on challenges faced by educator
• 3/22/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 19: “How can I create a safe space, when in reality there is no safe space?”
• 4/2/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 20: “The story of tomorrow has not yet been written”
• 4/12/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 21: “We read great texts, from Rabbi Nachman to Plato”
• 4/26/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 22: As freed Hebrew slaves, we must always protect the oppressed
• 5/3/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 23: Reflections on a messianic awakening
• 5/17/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 24: All the dissonance in the world
• 5/24/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 25: “I will always be there”
• 6/14/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 26: “A space where it is possible to breathe”
• 6/28/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 27: On Vigilance, Uncertainty, and Recovery
• 7/5/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 28: “This is what the children carry with them”
• 7/12/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 29: “We can’t wait for the day after, because it simply won’t come”
• 7/19/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 30: “I enjoyed not being afraid” – The Amitim reflect on their trip to the U.S.
• 7/28/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 31: “We are not like our grandparents in the Holocaust” – Yair Agmon ’04 writes about his new book,  One Day in October: Forty Heroes, Forty Stories
• 8/2/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 32: An Israeli psychologist living in Paris
• 8/9/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 33: Reflections on a week of uncertainty in Israel as another war looms (with an intro by Daphna Yizrael, Director of Amitei Bronfman)
• 8/16/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 34: “I truly understood the greatness of educators”
• 8/25/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 35: Does GenAI make our words obsolete?
• 9/6/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 36: “I feel like I belong to both sides, but these values clash; now what?” (with an intro by Daphna Yizrael)
• 9/13/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 37: “This is what we do – we do bereavement”
• 9/22/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 38: “It has to be a wake-up call because we have no other option”
• 9/27/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 39: “Laugh, for I will have faith in mankind”
• 10/6/24 Email – Voices of Young Israelis, Part 40: “I think being Israeli today means living with duality”
• 11/9/23 Piece in The Forward – Forward piece part 1
• 11/23/23 Piece in The Forward – Forward piece part 2
• 1/17/24 Piece in The Forward – Forward piece part 3
• 2/5/24 Piece in The Forward – Forward piece part 4
• 3/7/24 Piece in The Forward – Forward piece part 5
• 4/19/24 Piece in The Forward – “Passover in wartime: As freed Hebrew slaves, we must always protect the oppressed“
• A Few Notes for the Soul During a Crisis Period, by Limor Alon (’04 Amit)

2. Ways to Help: Donations & Advocacy

Requests from the Bronfman community in Israel:

• If you or someone you know has an apartment in Israel close enough to a safe space/ shelter that can host a family from areas that were evacuated, please contact us.
• If you or someone you know is a fluent Hebrew speaker and is trained as a psychologist or mental health professional and would be open to providing your services free or on a sliding scale, please contact us.

The Forward has created this comprehensive list of where to send donations.
Additional suggestions not covered in the list are below.  

• Brothers and Sisters for Israel – The largest aid organization in Israel.
• GoFundMe for Displaced Families in Israel – Submitted by a Bronfman alum. “The funds are used explicitly for purchase of supplies that will be distributed by Ariel and other volunteers to displaced families. No funds will be going towards any military support.”
• Therapeutic Baking at Lehem Zeh: Offering a Safe Space to Come Together, Process and Build Resilience During Wartime and Beyond – Submitted by a Bronfman alum. During this difficult period of war, all Israeli citizens – children, youth, adults and the elderly, from all backgrounds and in all locations – are experiencing uncertainty, fear, loss, and anxiety about what tomorrow may bring. Each one of us needs a space to process this experience and these complex feelings, to come together in order to share and to listen. The act of baking offers a powerful opportunity to process these feelings, and to build resilience and strength among diverse populations with diverse experiences. In a therapeutic baking context, we knead our way through the experience, using elements from the culinary world as metaphors that allow us to process our moments of difficulty as well as moments of strength. Baking offers us the opportunity to create a safe yet open space, as we gather in small groups to introspect together and find ways to move forward, under the guidance of expert bakers with backgrounds in counseling, special education, drama therapy and more. All workshops will take place at the social venture “Lehem Zeh,” a collaborative kitchen space that supports community through baking. For information on how to support this project, contact office@bronfman.org. 
• Jewish Funders Network opportunities to help – Vetted opportunities to help, from Jewish Funders Network. 
• Support for Or Sella and Dafna Sella, cousins of 7 Israeli hostages — Read more about their trip to the U.S. and the Fellowship’s involvement. If you’d like to help with their mounting expenses, you can donate at bronfman.org/donate and make your gift “In honor of the Sellas.”

Donations for Kibbutzim in the South:

• Kfar Aza – https://giveback.co.il/project/74858
• Nir Oz – https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/kibbutzniroz
• Kibbutz Holit – https://my.israelgives.org/en/fundme/kibbutzholit 
• Hof Ashkelon – https://www.hofashkelon.com/. The Hof Ashkelon Regional Council is raising the money which will go directly towards hotel rooms for people impacted in the region.

Donations for Vulnerable Populations and Trauma Support: 

• Keren Or Inc. – A Jerusalem-based organization that supports children with visual impairments and multiple disabilities and their families
• Humanity Crew
• ELEM – Youth in Distress in Israel
• AJEEC – Organizing crisis management coalition
• Amanina – Basic supplies
• Israel Trauma Center Coalition – Bedouin Resilience Center

 

3. Information & Educational Resources: 

Background Information:
We cannot endorse or guarantee the quality of any of the sources below. 

• AJC’s Resource Page: Click here.
• JFNA toolkit: JFNA has compiled a toolkit for the response to the war in Israel. It includes social content, web banner, email template & designed email, and talking points. https://jfeds.org/swordsofirontoolkit

How to Talk to Children and Young Adults about Conflict, Violence and Antisemitism:

• Supporting Our Youth & Teens: Learning & Talking About Israel, from JewishBoston Teens
• Sharing ideas for engaging with Jewish young adults in this difficult time, from The Bronfman Fellowship
• How to Talk to Children About the Conflict in Israel from ReformJudaism.org
• How to Talk to Kids about Violence Crime and War from Common Sense Media
• Israel at War: Managing the Trauma for Individuals and Families from Ohel
• Helping Children Cope After Traumatic Event by the Child Mind Institute
• How to Talk to Kids about What’s Happening in Israel Right Now from Kveller
• How to Discuss Anti-Semitism with Youths from 18 Doors

Navigating Social Media:

• How to Cope with Videos out of Israel, Gaza from USA Today 

Resources for Educators:

• “Deepening Understanding: Reading and Processing the Reflections of Israeli Young Adults” from The Bronfman Fellowship. This resource includes reflections from several young Israelis who are members of The Bronfman Fellowship’s Israeli community. Their writing provides a snapshot of their lives since the attacks on October 7, 2023. If you have any questions about how to use these materials or would like to get more information, please contact elizabeth@bronfman.org.
• Media Literacy Resources – Resources about misinformation/ disinformation, from A More Perfect Union: The Jewish Partnership for Democracy
• The Israeli-Palestinian Crisis: Resources for Educators, Caregivers, and School Leaders, from NY Education Department
• An Enduring Understanding, article by Rabbi Jan Katzew
• Processing Attacks in Israel and the Outbreak of War in the Region materials from Facing History 
• Educational Resources: Israel at War 2023 from Lookstein 
• Exploring the Current Israeli-Palestinian Crisis from Jewish Ed Project
• Learning Resources from Stand With Us
• Unpacking All Things Jewish from OpenDor Media
• Boundless Israel Resources
• Toolbox for Care – This teaching strategy invites students to think about the “tools” they have access to that can help them take care of themselves and their community in the wake of traumatic news. From Facing History.

For Interfaith Families:

• Twelve Tips for Talking About Israel in Interfaith Families  from 18 Doors

Resources for Dealing with Antisemitism:

• U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, from The White House
• Antisemitism Education Resources, from Jewish Studies at Berkeley
• Antisemitism and Its Impacts, from Facing History
• No Place for Hate, from the ADL

Other:

• Sefaria texts on the Redemption of Captives – A collection of texts edited by Itai Cooper (Amitei Bronfman ’17) about the Mitzvah of Pidyon Sh’vuyim (Redemption of Captives). Anyone can add texts to it.

 

4. Mental Health Resources

• Blue Dove Foundation – Organization focused on mental health in the Jewish community. Includes a lot of Zoom opportunities.
• Jewish Addiction Awareness Network – Jewish-focused online recovery resources.
• The Jewish Ed Project Mental Health Resources for Teens and Families – A comprehensive list of resources.
• National Suicide Prevention Hotline – 1-800-273-8255
• Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies – National listing of local Jewish family services where people can find free and low cost access to mental health and social service support.
• Looking for tools to navigate this challenging time? In the clip below, Bronfman alumna and Tomorrowmind author Dr. Gabriella Rosen Kellerman offers meaningful and practical insights for how we can cultivate resilience: