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Jerusalem: The international Christian
community, under the auspices of the International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), is ready to
step in and partially fill the void that could be left
if American funding is cut for Jewish social welfare
organizations and programmes in Israel and the Former
Soviet Union (FSU).
"We are in what I believe is a unique situation," IFCJ
founder and president Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein told the
Post this week. "Not only have our donations not been
hurt [by the economic crisis], we are actually up by
39.8 percent in the first quarter of this year compared
to last yea r. The bottom line is that we are one of the
few organizations where our giving has increased."
Eckstein, who sits on the board of both JAFI and JDC,
said the financial crisis was taking its toll on both
organizations, and that in the current economic climate
"they will have to crunch down and realize their core
missions."
"The JDC is in much better shape than JAFI, not just
fiscally but also in terms of brand and direction, but
there is no doubt that both organizations will take a
serious hit with this cut," he said. "The fellowship
will try to make up for it, and we have already stepped
in to provide funding for Holocaust survivors in the FSU.”
Recently, the IFCJ launched a NIS 7m. initiative aimed
at supplying needy families both here and in the FSU
with basic staples for Pessah. Roughly half, or some NIS
3.2m., went to humanitarian aid organization Latet to
distribute 20,000 food aid packages to needy families in
Israel, and a further NIS 4m. was given to various
programs run by the JDC, JAFI and Chabad for distressed
Jewish families and individuals in the FSU.
"These are difficult times," observed Eckstein.
"Unemployment and poverty are on the rise and the need
for help is growing. At the same time, Jewish
communities and philanthropies have been hit hard by the
decreased value of the dollar and the subsequent
economic turmoil. Last year was a devastating one for
Jewish organizations and foundations."
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