Jerusalem — Jews around the world have just finished celebrating Chanukah and the season of miracles. As we know, Chanukah celebrates miraculous events that took place in Israel just over 2,000 years ago.
We also find ourselves at the beginning of a new secular New Year, reflecting on the year that was and looking forward to all that awaits us in the year to come.
As we move into 2015, we are also commemorating another miracle that took place exactly 30 years ago — Operation Moses. Between Nov. 21, 1984, and Jan. 5, 1985, the State of Israel airlifted 8,000 Ethiopians, who had risked everything to walk to Sudan to await Mossad agents who would take them home to Israel.
This historic operation was only possible because of the collaboration between the State of Israel, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Jewish Federations of North America.
My first personal memory of the power of community was also during this season of miracles, exactly 27 years ago.
Along with many of you, I boarded an airplane chartered by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation with my parents, and our community headed for the Soviet Jewry March in Washington, D.C.
It was at that historic moment that I would hear the current Chairman of The Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky, speak about our global Jewish family for the first time.
I remember looking around at the massive crowd and understanding, in my bones, what it meant to be a part of the federation family and the Jewish people. For me, it was truly a miraculous day.
Milwaukee has always been a steadfast supporter of The Jewish Agency for Israel, of the State of Israel and of the Jewish people around the world.
Every decade brought its own challenges, and you were there to help the Jewish people meet them: Building and renewing the State of Israel in the 70s, marching on Washington for Soviet Jewry in the 80s, raising funds for the aliyah of the Russian and Ethiopian communities in the 90s, and today strengthening connections between young people around the world to Israel and our global Jewish family.
Today, we — the MJF and JAFI — continue to collaborate to do miraculous things every single day.
In 2014, working together, we brought more than 6,000 French olim (new immigrants)to Israel as conditions in France continue to worsen. We provided increased security for institutions in France and continued to offer Jewish education in their schools, camps and synagogues.
In 2014, we saw 11,000 young people from around the world participate in Masa Israel Journey, The Jewish Agency’s long term Israel engagement program.
We saw participants experience more than 300 different programs in Israel — from the arts, to academic programs, to volunteer programs focusing on co-existence, and many more.
In 2014, we sent 1,200 shlichim (emissaries) to camps all over North America, hundreds of shlichim to communities (including Amit Yaniv-Zehavi to Milwaukee) and 55 shlichim to college campuses across North America so that young Jews do not have to fight the battle against Israel’s de-legitimization alone.
This past year, JAFI and the Israeli Prime Minister’s office partnered to launch the “Israel Tech Challenge.” This new program attracts young people in the computer science industry to learn, work and have fun in Israel.
By immersing these 130 highly talented students in the cutting edge of the Israeli internet economy, we create an important a link between their future and the future of our start up nation.
As rockets once again rained on southern Israel in 2014, you were there to support us financially and emotionally.
Working together with you, JAFI sent 73,000 children for days of fun and respite so they could leave the bomb shelters in which they had been spending their summer vacation with their overwhelmed parents.
Together, we distributed emergency relief funding to 120 families who received direct hits on their homes; we made sure that 2,300 holocaust survivors living in the south had sheltered housing so that they did not have to run when an alarm sounded; and we provided financial and emotional support for over 400 lone soldiers in active combat.
And as always, whether in season or not, we celebrate the miracles. We celebrate the miracle that while rockets landed, so did planeloads of olim, standing in solidarity with our state and our people.
JAFI received more than 25 solidarity missions from communities all over the United States and Canada, demonstrating your timeless commitment to our State and our work here.
On behalf of JAFI, I want to thank the MJF for its unwavering support.
Together we have made history and we continue to work together to meet the needs of the Jewish community around the world.
I wish everyone in my hometown of Milwaukee a happy secular new year, and I pray that we continue to witness miracles together in the year to come.
Former Milwaukeean Danyelle Neuman is managing director of financial resource development for The Jewish Agency for Israel in Jerusalem.
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