Upwards of $1 billion in donations have been sent to Israel since the start of the war. For years Charlene Seidle, the Executive Vice President of the San Diego-based Leichtag Foundation, has been at the forefront of the Jewish philanthropic world. While the Leichtag Foundation supports various causes in the States and in Israel, their main local focus is bridging social and economic gaps in Jerusalem. They’ve given life to hundreds of grassroots initiatives and have created the ‘Jerusalem Model’ - a diverse network of social entrepreneurs, activists and leaders from all sectors around town - Jews, Muslims, Christians, religious, secular, etc. Since Charlene and her team have been nurturing and cultivating these relationships for so long, they were particularly well-situated to understand the needs on the ground in the immediate aftermath of October 7th.

Image courtesy of the Leichtag Foundation’s Jerusalem Philanthropic Initiatives.

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