Sar-El, the national volunteer project of Israel, announced its collaboration with the newly-created, American Friends of Sar El (AFOSE).
Since its founding in 1983, Sar-El has provided logistical, noncombatant support to the Israel Defense Forces by hosting more than 188,000 volunteers from over 60 countries. Since Oct. 7, Sar-El has hosted over 40,000 volunteers, more than 25% of whom are not Jewish.
Motivated by the importance of Sar-El and the need to elevate its visibility in the United States, a group of American Sar-El alumni established AFOSE.
The goal of AFOSE is to deepen the connection between Americans of all faiths and Israel through educational- and cultural-volunteer opportunities with Sar-El. AFOSE will fund specific volunteer efforts in logistics and first-responder medical aid through Sar-El’s relationship with Magen David Adom, as well as agricultural initiatives. AFOSE will fund volunteer programs for non-Jewish and Jewish students, community-leadership groups and profession-specific groups to help combat anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hate by exposing volunteers to the rich history, traditions, ethics and culture of Israel.
“We are excited to be working with AFOSE. The importance of volunteers experiencing Israel first hand cannot be overstated,” said Keren Dahan, Sar-El’s CEO. “We know that AFOSE will help Sar-El continue to be a major contributor to a greater understanding of the needs of Israel and the incredibly important role that volunteers play in fostering a sense of community and common bonds between Americans and Israelis.”
Kevin Lipson, AFOSE founder and president, said, “There has never been a more important time for Americans of all faiths to stand and be counted with our democratic ally, Israel. We are at an inflection point in American Jewish history, and the time is now to stand up for Israel and to be counted. Volunteerism, through the enormous capability of Sar-El, provides Americans — of all faiths — the experience, knowledge and sensitivity to act as the point of the spear to combat anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hate.”
For more information, contact: American Friends of Sar El at www.AFOSE.org.
