Featured Stories From Israel

Teaching Literacy: One Ethiopian-Israeli Girl's Metamorphosis
Avia, an Ethiopian-Israeli from Beit Shemesh, is a JDC success story: with the help of PACT, she will enter first grade on par with her veteran-Israeli peers....Read More>>

Father to Father in Ashkelon’s Supportive Community
In Ashkelon, Israel, two fathers, Yitzhak and Peter, have forged a relationship of trust very much like that between fathers and sons....Read More>>

“Better Together” Transforms Struggling Mom into Children's Activist
Rivka, age 38, struggled silently for more than a decade parenting her four children with special needs....Read More>>

Perseverance Pays Dividends for Disabled
Dalia Zilberman is not easily discouraged. Certainly being physically disabled and limited in her mobility hasn’t prevented her from becoming a tireless advocate for the rights and welfare of others living with disabilities....Read More>>

Nutrition Program Makes Healthy Living a Family Matter
It can be easy to undervalue the importance of balanced nutrition in shaping the journey from infancy to adulthood....Read More>>

Strengthening Father-Son Bonds in the Face of Disability
The emotions that arise within families when illness or disability strike can be unpredictable and exact terrible toll; so Haled Mugrabi, an Arab-Israeli father of three living in Raine discovered...Read More>>

Israeli Teens and Holocaust Survivors Witness the Healing Powers of Theater
Fifteen-year-old Eshel Amzaleg rehearses his role on stage with the Witness Theater group. He portrays a man named Zecharia Shagrin, born in Poland in 1925 and a survivor of Nazi death camps....Read More>>

JDC-TEVET Employment Initiative Helps Women of Valor Reach New Heights
Kavkazi-Israelis (Kavkazim), who immigrated to Israel from the Caucasus Mountain region of the former Soviet Union, generally struggle culturally to find their economic and social place in Israeli society....Read More>> 

Education Initiatve is Leveling the Playing Field for Disadvantaged
Children in Israel
Naomi was just two years old when her family emigrated from Ethiopia to Israel, eventually settling in Bat Yam, a coastal town close to Tel Aviv....Read More>>

JDC Features from the Field: Crisis in Gaza and Southern Israel
JDC supports residents of southern Israel during Gaza crisis through ongoing programs focused on the needs of elderly, children and youth at risk, vulnerable immigrants, and people with disabilities...Read More>>

Troubled Teen Perked Up by JDC-Supported Community Program Designed to Empower At-Risk Youth
Fifteen-year-old Yuval is the middle child in an orthodox family living in the Aviv neighborhood of Rosh Haayin, Israel. His mother is a homemaker, his father a factory worker. Yuval's older brother, who is mentally disabled, requires much of their mother's attention....Read More>>

JDC Intervention Eases Terror for Family Living Under Fire in Sderot
The Friedmans were a solid, functional family of six—Amir worked as an Egged bus driver; his wife, Rinat, was a schoolteacher. Their children were healthy, happy, and well-adjusted. Both parents had been living in Sderot for 40 years. But events of the past six months have disrupted their lives and created challenges that would destroy any normal family....Read More>>

Supporting Sakhnin: Community for the Disabled Piloted in First Arab Town
Hanna Shalata is a tremendous role model by any standards. A blind Christian Arab woman originally from Nazareth, Hanna, 27, is a social worker—a woman dedicated to helping others in emotional and physical need....Read More>>

JDC’s STRIVE Program: Making Financial Independence a Reality
When Tali wakes in the morning, her three-year-old son, Shai, sleeping next to her, the first thought on her mind is not breakfast. This young, single mother living in Southern Tel Aviv is forced to treat purchasing food as more of a luxury....Read More>>

JDC Youth Project in Israel Proves Walls Can Speak
The Hamsa, a hand-like talisman symbolizing peace and protection, is often utilized as a sign that unites Jews and Muslims, as well as Israelis of all walks of life—secular and religious, Ashkenazi and Sephardic, rich and poor....Read More>>

One Year Later: Hibuki Prove Cathartic for Traumatized Children in Israel
The Second Lebanon War continues to affect tens of thousands of Israelis, a year after the first Hezbollah Katyusha missiles hit the northern Galilee. With funding from UJC’s Israel Emergency Campaign and in partnership with the Israeli government, JDC’s programs continue to address the heightened needs of Israel’s most vulnerable citizens....Read More>>

Together, Jewish and Arab AMEN Volunteers Help Revitalize Northern Israel
In the aftermath of the 2006 bombings in northern Israel, JDC deployed 350 youth and adult volunteers to Haifa, Kiryat Shmona, Acco and other cities and villages. These volunteers were part of JDC's AMEN program, which aims to cultivate volunteerism and solidarity among the youth of Israel’s diverse groups, including Jews, Druze, and Bedouins...Read More>>