This past weekend, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets into Israel, striking deep into the nation. An area that came under heavy assault was Federation’s Partnership region in the Central Galilee. The air force base targeted by Hezbollah is situated right next to our Partner community, Moshav Nahalal. Fortunately, most of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome and we believe there have been no civilian casualties in this area. The region was heavily damaged, however, with several fires threatening local communities.
This weekend’s attack follows daily bombardment of Israeli towns in the north since October 7th. As a result of these ongoing attacks, some 60,000 Israelis are refugees in their own country, and 100,000 residents of the north – including evacuees – live under constant threat. Their lives and sleep are disrupted by red alerts sending them running for shelter at all hours of the day and night.
We are also concerned about innocent Lebanese civilians in the line of fire and growing casualties. Hezbollah is a recognized terror organization that defies UN resolution 1701, which bars it from having armed presence in the vicinity of Israel’s borders. The organization has been targeting Israeli communities, unlike Israeli forces, which are focused on destroying Hezbollah’s military arsenals and leaders—ones that are intentionally set in private civilian residences.
Your impact
We are proud to share that through Israel Emergency Campaign grants made possible through the generosity of our donors, we provided funding to Nahalal to upgrade their security preparedness infrastructure and equipment. We know this will be put to good use when necessary. We deeply appreciate the ongoing support of our greater Ann Arbor Jewish community, which has meant so much to the Israeli people over the past year.
We remain in close contact with our partners on the ground in Israel, and our hearts are with our many family members and friends in the region, as well as with all the citizens of Israel.
May we reach a time of safety, security and peace for all innocent civilians.