For more than 25 years, this Federation has focused on programs that reflect the unique values of our San Francisco community. We address needs and relate to target populations that others might not, or who would otherwise fall by the wayside.

We follow our programs closely, making sure they are implemented effectively and efficiently, with a maximum of accountability from our own office in Israel.

Caring for immediate and long-term needs

Kibbutz Nir Am lies between Gaza and Sderot, less than a kilometer from the Gaza border. We “adopted” Kibbutz Nir Am because we identified a community that had been under fire for years, heroically coping with huge challenges.

Because Nir Am is a small kibbutz, and the kibbutz ethos is to be self-reliant and not to ask for help, they have received almost no external support.

True to our San Francisco values, we met with the community and provided a vehicle for them to share their needs with dignity. They were surprised to find an agency that didn’t come with its own agenda, but rather were interested in hearing what they really needed.

“Adopting” this kibbutz meant a grant that provided funds to care for immediate and long-term needs.

• We made it possible to respond to the need for therapy for almost all of the kids in the Kibbutz.
• We helped daycare workers deal with 2-year olds who saw a Kassam rocket fall several meters from them, with not a single one even uttering a sound or crying.
• We funded respite sessions for the entire community, who reported that they came back home with renewed strength and capacity to cope.
• We provided equipment for preschools and kindergartens where kids were stuck for hours, because they couldn’t go outside for months on end.

And as usual, we were unique and “out of the box.” The only other funds that Nir Am received were designated for renovations of the shelters. As one Kibbutz member said, “San Francisco relates not only to buildings but to our souls.”

Family mentoring program in Sderot

The San Francisco Federation is funding Atzmaut (“Independence”) - a comprehensive, family-based program for Ethiopian Jews, which provides intensive mentoring to the entire family, relating to the needs of the children at school, the difficulties of their parents in finding work, and to parent-child relationships and family functioning.

The unique approach of our community is apparent. The Ethiopian-Israeli community in Sderot is only 120 families – small by government standards. Both government and philanthropic funds are overwhelmingly directed to those towns in which there are large concentrations of the Ethiopian community. Often those living in the smaller places fall by the wayside. And of course, in Sderot, only 1Km from the Gaza border, their needs are no less compelling.

A recent missile attack forced Batsheva, Atzmaut’s Program Director in Sderot, (herself Ethiopian-Israeli) to her family's shelter. She realized she was using breathing techniques from trauma relief workshops she'd arranged for Atzmaut participants. Asked how living under fire had affected her work, she explained, “It is not easy working when you are worrying about your family, but it gives me strength to know that I have to help those who need help more than I do.”

The critical need for this program, clear every day, is all the more highlighted in times of crisis. Additional gifts directed to this program will increase the number of families and children receiving help. Give now.

Building people-centered enterprises in the Arab-Bedouin community

The San Francisco Federation is one of the funders of NISPED (Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development) - a center for education, training and project development. The Arab-Jewish Center (AJEEC) promotes equality, empowerment and cooperation between the Arab citizens of Israel and the Arab-Bedouin population in the Negev.

Today, the Arab Bedouin community of the Negev numbers approximately 170,000 – a quarter of the total population of the Negev. The Arab Bedouin community constitutes the poorest sector of Israeli society. Over 30% of the men and 80% of the women are unemployed; there are high rates of illiteracy and crime.

After four intensive years of planning, building renovation and training, NISPED –AJEEC celebrated the opening of the Arab-Bedouin Women's Catering Enterprise in Hura. This business, managed and run by seven single mothers, is already providing the community's children with nearly 2,000 hot meals every day, as part of Israel's School Nutrition Program. This groundbreaking initiative is helping to empower one of the most marginalized groups in Israel and in the Arab Bedouin community – single mothers, who are either widowed or who have been abandoned by their husbands for second wives - enabling them to financially support their families, who are totally dependent on them.