This is how American volunteers continue to support Israel

Since the beginning of the war, thousands of Americans have flocked to Israel to volunteer and affirm that the Jewish state does not stand alone. One organization spearheading volunteer missions to Israel is Jewish National Fund-USA, which has sent 3,500 volunteers to Israel since October 7.“It has been 15 years since I last came here [to Israel],” said mission participant Tori Lynn Leibovic, 31, from Brooklyn, New York. “I learned about Israel's history and wars [at my Jewish Day School]; however, I never really 'felt it' until October 7 following Hamas' unprecedented attack against Israeli communities.”Every other week, Jewish National Fund-USA brings hundreds of volunteers from America and around the world to help repair, rehabilitate, and rebuild the communities it has worked with for decades along the Gaza border and in the north.Volunteer activities include painting buildings, constructing outdoor furniture, cleaning up parks and playgrounds, cooking food for soldiers, picking fruit and vegetables, packing care packages for people in hospitals and soldiers, and much more.'Be prepared to roll up their sleeves'“Mission participants should be prepared to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty,” said Jewish National Fund-USA Director, Northern California, Martha Kariv, who led a July volunteer mission. However, she was quick to add that the trips also include “emotional and inspiring visits to major hospitals and experiences meeting with disabled soldiers. Volunteers also visit the site of the NOVA music festival massacre and plant trees.” Jewish National Fund-USA volunteers pick eggplant in Israel's north. (credit: JNF-USA)The missions have attracted participants ranging in age from 18 to 93. They are led by a professional tour guide and protected by an armed security guard. Asked if she had any reservations before coming to Israel, Leibovic explained, “If my Holocaust survivor grandparents could come to pre-state Israel in '46 and fight in the Haganah (the precursor to the Israel Defense Forces), I think I can pick some onions for a day.”She added, “There's only so much you can see (regarding the situation in Israel) on social media. You have to come here and be on the ground seeing the realities for yourself. I live in a part of Brooklyn where I'm surrounded by anti-Israel people all day long. It's important that I can bear testimony to what really happened here on October 7 amidst the unrelenting disinformation campaigns.”

This is how American volunteers continue to support Israel

“If my Holocaust survivor grandparents could come to pre-state Israel in ‘46 and fight, I think I can pick some onions for a day,” said Tori Lynn Leibovic, who came to Israel with JNF-USA.

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