How Federation Dollars Deliver Overseas

Historically, the two main beneficiaries of the federation's overseas dollars have been the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI or the Jewish Agency) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC or the Joint).

JAFI plays a unique role in building Jewish peoplehood. For 70 years, the Jewish Agency, a humanitarian organization committed to the highest ideals of freedom and equality, has been pivotal to Israel's remarkable story of immigration, renewal and growth. And for over 50 years, since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jewish Agency has been the driving force behind the unique bond between Jews worldwide and Israel.

More than 755,000 immigrants went to Israel from the former Soviet Union between 1989 and 1998. Thousands still arrive every month. Wherever there is a Jewish community in the FSU, there is a JAFI representative . . . Hebrew-language classes, summer camps, youth clubs, education and job placement services are also available.

In Israel, JAFI operates 25 absorption centers that house unaccompanied minors and young adults in education programs and immigrants rescued from crisis; 50 hostels that shelter and care for the immigrant elderly are managed by Amigour; information centers that give one-stop assistance to new immigrants in private housing; along with advanced Hebrew-language and vocational retraining classes.

Five hundred youngsters at risk live at JAFI youth villages. Most are new immigrants. All are educationally deprived. After two years, 90% are ready to join their peers in regular schools. And JAFI's Partnership 2000 pairs 28 Israeli regions with 550 Diaspora communities to develop the Negev, Galilee and Jerusalem areas by turning the Israel-Diaspora relationship into a true partnership.

For 83 years, JDC has embodied the principle that all Jews are responsible for one another. Operating in 59 countries around the world, JDC rescues Jews in distress, provides relief for Jews in need, reconstructs and rebuilds Jewish communities and helps Israel address its social challenges by serving as a force for innovation and reform. The collapse of the former Soviet Union presented JDC with two challenges: reviving Jewish life, nearly obliterated by WWII and the Soviets, and meeting the welfare needs of the Jewish elderly suffering in the current economic turmoil. 32% of Jews in the region are over 65.

Many have no relatives and live on meager fixed incomes. JDC provides food and home care to the 190,000 most needy. JDC's Hesed centers distributed these services by incorporating senior citizen centers, with food programs, medical equipment loan facilities, medical consultations, and a variety of services for the homebound under one roof. There are 121 Heseds in the FSU.

To train staff and volunteers, JDC established the William Rosenwald Institute for Communal and Welfare Workers in St. Petersburg. More than 16,500 have completed the course. JDC also strives to involve Jews in Jewish communal life in the FSU through a variety of program options – 59 community centers, 153 libraries, Hillels in Moscow, Kiev, Minsk and St. Petersburg; 54 day schools and 34 kindergartens, among them.