Pro-Israel individuals and organizations around the world have donated the equivalent of at least $1.4 billion to Israel since October 7, according to Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.
According to the ministry, the billions of dollars in donations, along with the activism of the Jewish Diaspora and the large number of volunteers who have traveled to Israel during the current war, testify to “an unprecedented effort by Jewish communities around the world to support Israel“.
The amount is already higher than what American Jews gave in total during the 1967 Six-Day War – but lower than what was donated during the Yom Kippur War six years later, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.
It includes fundraising efforts launched by American Jewish communities, crowdfunding campaigns and charities working on behalf of the Israeli military.
The 146-member Jewish Federations of North America accounts for almost half of the donations and has raised so much money from Jewish and pro-Israel Americans that it “has not had to turn down requests from Israeli charities as long as they meet certain criteria”.
Pro-Israel investors
In addition, at least 58,000 volunteers have flown to Israel to either join the Israeli military during the ongoing invasion of Gaza, help with agricultural work, or assist Israeli aid organizations.
In addition to donations, the Israeli government has also raised $1.7 billion through the sale of Israeli bonds – at least $300 million of which came from U.S. state and local governments, particularly in Florida, and according to the newspaper, “many investors” were “publicly citing their desire to support Israel”.
“Investors were opting for Israel bonds even though returns on the bonds are relatively modest compared to other investments currently available on the market”, they write.
It should be noted that the pace of donations has slowed in the six months of the war – but even so, a third of the donations collected have yet to be distributed.
At least 33,500 Palestinians are reported to have been killed since October 7, most of them women and children, and thousands are missing. The Israeli death toll stands at around 1,140, according to the country’s authorities.
