Even now, as the living hostages have returned home, the American understanding of Israeli life lacks nuance and a deeper understanding of the toll the multifront war took on everyday people.
Limited to the political headlines, controversy, or business as usual, reporting holds outsiders in a chokehold of hurrying up and waiting. This dynamic has reached an inflection point with a fragile ceasefire in place and aspirations for rebuilding slowly take shape.
As the head of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee – a global Jewish aid organization, supported by Jewish Federations and many others here in Florida, that has invested billions of dollars over the past 100+ years in improving the lives of Israel’s most vulnerable and aiding more than 1 million of the hardest hit Israelis since Oct. 7,2023 – I can confidently say that the picture most are familiar with is far from complete.
Israel’s story is filled with everyday people living with the currents of history and geopolitics. They are teachers, grandparents, and children for whom what was once commonplace – a walk to school, a family gathering, or a trip to the doctor – becomes increasingly challenging when violence escalates.
Today, millions of Israelis are left vulnerable from over two years of war, with hundreds of thousands at risk of their challenges becoming more permanent if their recovery is not addressed immediately. The returned hostages and survivors of the Oct. 7 atrocities also require specialized care to urgently address their physical, mental and emotional needs after facing the unimaginable.
I witnessed this oft-ignored reality on my trip to Israel this summer following the Iran ceasefire. What I found was a nation traumatized but resilient, and its people facing growing needs and possessing the drive to rebuild stronger. From the post-traumatic stress of the Nova attack, to the impact of widespread devastation in Israel’s north, to the beginning of a new normal for the hostages, Israeli’s lives have been upended without warning or warrant.
In addition to lives lost and widespread trauma, civilian infrastructure was targeted by missile and drone attacks. One-fifth of Israelis were forced to evacuate and tens of thousands lost jobs. The brunt of these hardships was particularly felt among the most vulnerable–the poor and elderly, those with disabilities, and Arab community members.
I heard their stories and met people dealing with crushing anguish. For a mother who lived through the Oct. 7 pogrom and recently lost her son in the war, returning to work as a teacher inflicts the deep wounds of her loss. Even singing a happy birthday song for a student inadvertently reminds her that she’ll never experience the joy of celebrating her son’s birthday again.
She’s involved in our trauma-informed career coaching, which supports Israelis in re-establishing a sense of normalcy and reintegration into society after trauma, turning it towards productive ends. Studies show the importance of returning to a daily routine following traumatic events and loss. Employment programs like these are key to rebuilding broken lives.
For children, growing up in conflict and strife is the only normal they’ve ever known. Coming of age in a geopolitical crisis undoubtedly has longstanding impacts. Many have been displaced and had their daily routines upended, lost relatives and friends, and were without formal education for long periods.
Programs like Hibuki are a lifeline for traumatized children. Developed by us during the 2006 Second Lebanon War together with Tel Aviv University and the Israeli Ministry of Education, the therapeutic Hibuki toy – a dog with long arms that wraps around your neck while you hold it – allows children to process difficult emotions and heal from fear and stress by projecting their feelings onto the animal. A Harvard study acclaimed it as one of the top interventions for children affected by war. Childhood years are formative in establishing our emotional and intellectual capacity and must be tended to in Israel and beyond.
Israel’s north was particularly at risk, with more than 70,000 evacuated and 1.5 million living under fire. These communities – home to Jews, Arabs, and Druze – suffered rocket fire from Hezbollah, which destroyed homes and businesses and devastated the agricultural industry. This region’s social services were already stretched thin and vulnerable populations had insufficient access to bomb shelters and safe rooms.
A coalition of philanthropists, including JDC, Jewish Federations, NGOs, local government and business leaders, supports a $4.1 billion Israeli government effort to address these challenges. We’re reintegrating returning evacuees, generating housing and jobs, restoring roads and utilities, providing new social services, and upgrading education and healthcare systems.
The Jewish concepts of mutual responsibility and loving one’s neighbor command us to leave no one behind. That spirit guided work helping eradicate malaria in the 1920s and building the fledgling state’s social services in the 1950s. It got Israel’s Haredi and Arab populations into the workforce in the past decade and drove the emergency response and rescue training for underserved Jewish and Arab populations during the current war.
Now is the moment to invest in the long-term well-being of a society scarred by conflict and to tell the stories of those whose lives were irrevocably changed. In doing so, we are reminding the world not to lose sight of the plight of everyday Israelis too easily lost behind the headlines.
Ariel Zwang is the CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).
