Following the March 12 truck-ramming attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., a suburb west of Detroit, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund has doubled its budget to combat antisemitism.
The incident strikes at the heart of the U.S. Midwest, threatening one of the largest Reform synagogues in North America, in addition to the fundamental right of Jews to live and pray in safety.
In response to the alarming rise in antisemitic violence and terror worldwide, KKL-JNF’s board of directors has decided to increase the annual budget dedicated to fighting Jew-hatred and supporting Zionist activity on campuses, increasing it from 3 million to 6 million shekels.
KKL-JNF chairman Eyal Ostrinsky stated that “the attack on the Jewish synagogue and Reform community in Detroit is appalling. We stand alongside the Jewish community and support it during this difficult time.”
She continued, saying that “the decision to double the budget this year sends a clear message: We will not stand idly in the face of antisemitism and hatred. In addition, we at KKL-JNF are examining, in cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel, the establishment of a global center to strengthen the resilience, security and emergency preparedness of Jewish communities in the Diaspora.”
Every community of Jews, Ostrinsky said, “must know that it does not stand alone.”
KKL-JNF further calls on Jewish leaders internationally to unite in confronting the dangerous phenomenon of antisemitism, and to continue working together with unity, determination and mutual responsibility.
