JFN staff, leadership, and membership are united in shock and revulsion at the murderous attack that Hamas terrorists, backed by Iran, have conducted in Southern Israel and other locations.

Once again, our enemies have struck on a sacred day; a day that should have been joyous and festive, turned into one of mourning.

The images are horrifying, and there are reports of an unprecedented number of casualties and hostages. This is the first time since 1948 that Israeli cities and communities are overrun and invaded, and we are seeing scenes that we thought were forever gone. We are all praying for the victims and their families, and for the prompt return to calm in the affected cities and kibbutzim.

We are one with our Israeli staff and members, who are being personally affected by this tragedy, especially those that have children and relatives on the frontlines.

At the same time, we are certain that Israel will prevail this time as well, and our forces will bring back calm and deterrence while exacting a heavy price on those that conduct these heinous acts.

Our enemies should make no mistake, Israelis may favor or oppose the current government, but they are all united when the country is attacked.

As always, JFN members are mobilizing their philanthropy to help Israelis in their hour of need. Israel has a robust emergency response system that is now evaluating the needs on the ground. We know that there will be many, from providing support to affected families, to preventing escalations between Arabs and Jews inside Israel, to helping defend Israel in the arena of public opinion.

JFN is liaising with the authorities in Israel to determine in what areas philanthropic support will be more useful and necessary. At this point, we need to wait for the “fog of war” to lift enough to identify where needs are more acute.

JFN will set up a database where needs and resources will be listed. We ask JFN members, especially those in Israel, to share with us both the needs they are observing and the grants they are planning. As always in these cases, our network is a resource of information and resources for the Jewish philanthropic world. Please write to us [email protected]. And please bear in mind that in cases such as this, the biggest need for philanthropic resources comes in the aftermath.

May we all see the vision of our sacred texts realized: “For You will call peace upon The Land and forever more happiness to the inhabitants therein.”