Michael Balaban's Update on the War in Israel

- Michael Balaban
President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia

As the war continues, I am reminded of something Rabbi David Levin said during our Advocacy Mission to D.C. and that is the collective feeling of grief that he best described as aninut: the Jewish word for the period between death and burial. This traditionally lasts only a few days, but we have been in aninut since this horrific violence began on Oct. 7.

The word aninut stems from the Hebrew root meaning “to be under pressure.” We are still in a time when we do not know when our aninut will end.

I am writing to you now from Israel, where I feel this mourning, longing and pressure in its rawest form: the pressure to rescue the remaining hostages and to begin the process of rebuilding Israel. 

But I have also felt immense Jewish pride after spending a week in Israel, my third time visiting since Oct. 7, meeting with our hardworking team stationed there, volunteers, and our longstanding partner agencies, especially in our Partnership2Gether regions of Sdot Negev and Netivot. I am amazed by the resiliency of each person I speak with, who still holds hope in the face of the grim reality of this war.

On Wednesday, I met with our Israel based core partners from the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). I left these conversations feeling immensely grateful for the collective impact we can make as part of the Jewish Federations’ network. Our strength of 146 Jewish Federations has raised over $800 million for Israel's immediate and long-term recovery needs. 

This week I was also uplifted by the news of the IDF’s successful rescue of two of the remaining hostages, both Israeli-Argentinian men, and I pray for their full recovery. Around the same time this news broke I was in a meeting about the status of hostage negotiations and heard how your generosity is helping Israelis navigate their collective trauma. 

I spent time in our partnership communities with the mayors of Sdot Negev and Netivot to see firsthand the needs of today and work together on what is needed for tomorrow. I also was introduced to the innovative work of Maoz, a think tank which we also provide year-round funding to through our Annual Campaign that builds leadership capacity and partnerships between grassroots and local governments. For Israel to recover, an all hands on deck approach is needed and these partnerships will play a pivotal role. There is an immense road ahead in the areas of mental health, economic recovery and community rebuilding. Our support towards these initiatives has been tremendously valuable to our Israeli partners.   

We will continue to find strength in our collective and walk this road together. 

I am heartened by the knowledge that we are not only supporting each other through this aninut, but also actively working to ensure that once we have buried our dead, we may continue the healing process together as one people.

While that ever-present heaviness still weighs on us, I hope you will also feel proud of the vital work you have supported, and continue to support, to help Israel during this time. I know I do.

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