War In Israel
Our Response So Far
The devastation, loss, and trauma that the October 7th attacks caused in Israel and among Jewish people around the world has undoubtedly impacted every aspect of our work. In response, our ongoing actions and grantmaking aim to: address the immediate, pressing needs of women and children in Israel; call-out the US-based and international entities that have failed to uphold their missions of protecting all women; and ensure that women are adequately represented in Israel’s decision-making regarding the war and its aftermath.
Grantmaking
Since Oct. 7, the Hadassah Foundation has made several emergency grants:
+$36,000 to Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America (HWZOA) to support the trauma care at its hospitals
+$10,000 to Jewish Federations of North America’s Israel Crisis Fund;
+$20,000 in discretionary grants to Itach Ma’aki: Women Lawyers for Social Justice, Israel Women’s Network, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, and Beit Ruth Therapeutic Village.
Programming
On December 19th, the Hadassah Foundation, along with 21 co-sponsoring organizations, hosted a webinar on the War’s Impact on Women in Israel. Find follow-up resources from the speakers and cosponsors here.
Building The Field
With Elluminate, the Hadassah Foundation launched and co-led the Jewish Women’s Collective Response Fund, a collective of 11 Jewish women’s organizations that in May 2024 awarded grants of $25,000 each to support, elevate and empower Israeli women in the aftermath of October 7. (The grants are in addition to the Hadassah Foundation’s regular grantmaking for 2024.) Learn more.
We are working with larger funders to make women a priority in their Israel emergency allocations by providing them with up-to-date information about the needs of women in Israel and available resources.
Below, are a few examples of our grantee organizations’ vital and impressive work in the aftermath of October 7.
Advocacy
In January, the Hadassah Foundation joined HWZOA, National Council of Jewish Women, and Jewish Women International (a Hadassah Foundation grant recipient) and 55 other concerned organizations in a letter to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres demanding the UN conduct an independent, complete, unbiased investigation into the reports and documented evidence of Hamas’ rape, mutilation, gender-based violence and murder of Israeli women and girls, and pursue vigorous prosecution to hold Hamas terrorists accountable. The coalition also called for the UN to demand that Hamas release the hostages it continues to hold, including women and girls, especially in light of evidence showing continued torture and abuse. Learn more here.
+Immediately following the Oct. 7th attacks, Hadassah Foundation, jointly with Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America (HWZOA) issued a response to the statements made by the UN Secretary General and by UN Women that failed to:
+address the severity of the gender-based crimes committed,
+recognize or aim to protect those who were abducted as innocent hostages, and
+condemn the brutal attack committee by Hamas.
+Hadassah Foundation was one of over 140 organizations to sign-on to a Call for Urgent Action – Response of Women’s Rights Organizations to UN Women’s Statement on Oct. 7.
Responses from Our
Grantee Organizations
Itach Ma’aki: Women Lawyers For Social Justice
Focused on Israel’s most marginalized women – including Bedouin women and those living in poverty and in the geographic periphery – Itach Ma’aki advances women’s legal rights, builds gender and social equality within municipalities, and increases the influence of women throughout Israel. Since October 7, Itach Ma’aki has established a Jewish-Arab partnership in the South that coordinates operations of 16 emergency aid centers providing food and other necessary items, as well as psychological and legal support, to thousands of families, many led by single mothers.
Israel Women’s Network
A longtime grant recipient of the Hadassah Foundation, Israel Women’s Network (IWN) aims to eradicate gender-based violence, promote gender equality in the workplace, and raise the socio-economic status of women in Israel.
After October 7, IWN expanded its legal-aid hotline, which is providing multilingual and multicultural guidance – including information on their rights and how to access government resources – to thousands of women throughout Israel who have lost their jobs or are unable to work as a result of the war. IWN also helped mobilize hundreds of Israeli women’s organizations to create a strong, unified voice calling on international bodies to acknowledge and condemn the gender-based violence Hamas committed on October 7.
More Grantee Responses
News & Events
Grantmaking
Hadassah Foundation's Approach
We support organizations that work through a gender lens and that are creating social change. Learn what that means and about our grantmaking practices. Read more
Meet Our Grantees
Our grant recipients in Israel and the United States address a variety of issues affecting those who identify as women and girls. Learn about our current and past grant recipients. Read More