The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Fund for the Victims of Terror submitted a report on Monday to first lady Michal Herzog revealing the extent of the damage from the Hamas atrocities and the number of people who have been officially designated as victims of terrorism from Oct. 7, 2023 until the end of 2024.
The report was submitted by the Jewish Agency chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, Fund for the Victims of Terror chairwoman Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin and Jewish Agency CEO Yehuda Setton. It came as Israel marked 500 days since the Hamas massacre.
During this period, the fund has provided terror victims with aid amounting to 85.5 million shekels ($24.1 million). In the past year alone, it disbursed 11,797 emergency and rehabilitation grants to terror victims; provided educational support to approximately 2,000 children; and supported around 4,500 participants in therapeutic group intervention programs, including survivors of the Nova music festival in southern Israel.
The Fund says that the Hamas massacre posed an unprecedented challenge, due to the scope of the physical and psychological damage suffered by so many people. This has prompted it to significantly expand its activities: providing direct assistance to terror victims and their families, bereaved families, families of hostages and returnees, and the wounded.
The fund operates through donations from the Jewish Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod, the Israeli Spirit and other donors from the Jewish world and Israel.
“The Fund for the Victims of Terror is a living testament to the mutual responsibility of the Jewish people that unites us, especially in these difficult days, as we face deep pain and loss,” said Almog.
“Meeting with the families of the victims of terror, hearing the personal stories of people who have experienced the deepest pain, and yet find the strength to rebuild and carry on, is so deeply moving. They are testament to the resilience of Israeli society,” Herzog said. “The Jewish Agency’s Fund for the Victims of Terror reflects the strength of the mutual responsibility between Israel and the Jewish people all over the world, and the importance of this unity.”
Nahmias-Verbin said, “We began the journey in our painful days immediately after the Oct. 7 disaster, when we accompanied the first lady, Michal Herzog, on a difficult visit to the residents of Kibbutz Kfar Aza. “The fact that the fund’s director, Yael Raz, and I, along with a special team of women, can provide a variety of support channels—on a personal, family and community level, from emergency grants to impact resilience programs for bereaved families, families of captives, [Nova festival] victims and physical and psychological injury victims—is a unique privilege. I was honored to share the fund’s report with the first lady and to promise her that we support the victims in the future, as well.”