From vulnerability to strength: Empowering the economically at-risk

JDC leverages its vast experience of social innovation and impact to help vulnerable Jews and strengthen Jewish communities.

 JDC has developed programs to help reservists and disabled veterans transition back to work  and fill roles that Israeli businesses need to return to full productivity. Pictured here, reservists at a management training initiative. (photo credit: JDC)
JDC has developed programs to help reservists and disabled veterans transition back to work and fill roles that Israeli businesses need to return to full productivity. Pictured here, reservists at a management training initiative.
(photo credit: JDC)

This article was written in cooperation with JDC.

The costs of food, housing, utilities, and medicine are rising all around the world – and for people already in a fragile state due to conflicts and economic turbulence, the situation can be dire. For vulnerable members of Jewish communities across the globe, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the essential address in responding to emergencies and fostering long-term resilience.

Founded in 1914 to aid starving Jews in the land of Israel, today JDC leverages its vast experience of social innovation and impact to help at-risk Jews and strengthen Jewish communities in 70 countries, including addressing the economic stresses on older adults, vulnerable families, and others in places like Israel, Ukraine, and Argentina.

As the crisis in Ukraine nears the three-year mark, JDC has helped more than 54,000 vulnerable Jews, including nearly 7,000 internally displaced persons and an increasing number of “new poor,” with aid ranging from food to winter survival aid to employment assistance.  (Credit: Arik Shraga)Enlrage image
As the crisis in Ukraine nears the three-year mark, JDC has helped more than 54,000 vulnerable Jews, including nearly 7,000 internally displaced persons and an increasing number of “new poor,” with aid ranging from food to winter survival aid to employment assistance. (Credit: Arik Shraga)
Moving forward in Israel

Israel is a country transformed by October 7 and more than a year of war, and now, hundreds of thousands of Israelis who never needed social assistance before – among them, reservists, evacuees, and the newly disabled – need support to move forward and build their future.

Raising three children with his wife, Eliran, 39, worked in quality control producing wall cladding at a company located near the northern border. He enlisted on October 7 and served in the IDF until just weeks ago. When Eliran returned to his workplace after his military service, he joined a management-training program created by JDC that addresses a shortage of qualified professionals in enterprises located in war-battered regions that are key to restoring the economy, businesses, and communities on their journey to recover.

Additionally, the JDC program helps reservists like Eliran get right back to work and feel supported during their transition from military service as well as enables him and his family to see a future in the North. The program also ensures there are expert professionals for jobs that Israeli businesses need to return to full productivity.

The economic crisis in Argentina has caused a threefold increase in poor Jewish elderly and families requiring support. JDC’s response involves supplementing the resources and maximizing the reach of local Jewish agencies to ensure essential needs like food, housing, and medications are met. (Credit: Martin Weiss)Enlrage image
The economic crisis in Argentina has caused a threefold increase in poor Jewish elderly and families requiring support. JDC’s response involves supplementing the resources and maximizing the reach of local Jewish agencies to ensure essential needs like food, housing, and medications are met. (Credit: Martin Weiss)

“This is my first time serving as a manager in my field, and it came at exactly the right time,” says Eliran. “I am learning how to work with people, how to articulate myself, and how to prioritize both big and small things.”So far, 150 participants representing 25 businesses in the industry, agriculture, commerce, services, and construction sectors have joined and completed training for these critical roles, with 450 more people expected to participate in the coming months.

In addition, close to 14,000 wounded veterans from the IDF and security forces are seeking their way back to a stable routine, including employment, after serving in the war. The AI-based Jobify system, developed by JDC, offers personalized, skills-based career guidance adapted to include a special track for wounded veterans that connects with leading companies which have committed to employing them. JDC is collaborating with the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization to promote this critical vocational resource.


Stay updated with the latest news!

Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter


Similarly, JDC’s Back On Track program provides supportive career services for Israelis dealing with psychological or physical injuries caused by October 7 and the war. Jenny Aloni’s husband fought terrorists on October 7, was wounded, and required rehabilitation.

Two months later, one of her sons died in battle in Gaza. She found it unbearable to continue working with children as a classroom aide. Back On Track gave her the support and resources to change careers. See the video of Jenny sharing her moving story

 Small businesses in the hardest-hit regions also need support to help them and their communities recover, including agriculture, as local crops are Israel’s main food source. Many farms throughout the North and South were disrupted by the war, such as Eyal Nyksa’s 30 acres of tropical produce located in Sdeh Nitzan in the northern Negev.

In the aftermath of October 7, Eyal explains, “Workers returned to Thailand, my family is without a home, and I’m stuck at peak season unable to harvest – two months of complete chaos.” Help in making sustainable, long-term improvements came from JDC’s Program 360, which provides small business assistance.

Eyal, 43, received a mentor who specializes in agricultural mechanization, and now he’s in the process of streamlining the farm and his operation. “This project opened new horizons for me,” he says. “It gives me a forward-looking perspective.”

Program 360 has already supported 23 agricultural businesses and plans to help 150 more in the South with rehabilitation, business growth, and employment development in the coming years. JDC runs this program in partnership with the Ministries of Economy, Labor, and Agriculture, along with Israel’s Innovation Authority and National Digital Array.

Helping Ukraine’s new poor

As the devastating conflict rages on in Ukraine, JDC continues its life-saving care for tens of thousands of the country’s most vulnerable Jews – the elderly, people with disabilities, and families. Thousands are displaced within Ukraine and as refugees in other countries, and with skyrocketing inflation and diminished employment opportunities, there is an ever-increasing number of “new poor” as the third anniversary of the crisis approaches.

Daria, 40, Oleksandr, 47, and their daughter, Rina, 11, were living in hard-hit Kherson when the lethal conflict erupted around them. They made the difficult decision to seek refuge in western Ukraine. The family reached Lviv at the end of March 2022, finding relative safety and a welcoming, supportive community at the city’s JDC-supported Hesed Arieh social service center.

The family became involved in Hesed activities, and Rina has been participating in trauma support programs.When Oleksandr lost his job in 2023, and Daria’s income alone could no longer meet the family’s rising expenses, JDC was there to help, offering material support to cover rent, utilities, and food, along with dedicated winter survival aid to assist with making it through Ukraine’s frigid temperatures and rolling blackouts.

JDC also works to bolster economic support for community members through JOINTECH Talent, its employment initiative that includes an online platform, training, and hubs to connect Ukrainian Jews with remote employment opportunities.

For example, using Fiverr, an Israeli online marketplace for freelance services, JOINTECH Talent offers job seekers a training program and ongoing support about how to market themselves. Keeping up with a fast-changing job market and spiking need in Ukraine, the program is already being adapted for even greater success.

 “It’s an innovative and effective way to put kol yisrael arevim zeh la’zeh – the notion that all Jews are responsible for each other – into action,” says Tetiana Kopytchuk, the initiative’s coordinator. “JOINTECH Talent contributes to JDC’s commitment to building resilient, empowered, and dynamic Jewish communities.”

Viktoriia Riepka, a freelancer from Poltava, found work through JOINTECH Talent and now volunteers with the program as a professional mentor. “If JOINTECH Talent didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have the financial independence I have right now,” she says.

“We need some light in the dark tunnel we’re in, and JOINTECH Talent is powering my future.” Watch the video to learn more about Viktoriia’s inspiring journey.  And for thousands of Ukrainian Jews who have sought refuge in European countries, JDC has provided workforce opportunities alongside vital food, medicine, and housing support.

Responding to Argentina’s economic upheavals

Argentina, home to the largest Jewish population in Latin America, has experienced multiple cycles of economic upheaval, including a current crisis causing a threefold increase in poor Jewish elderly and families needing assistance.

In 2024 alone, inflation topped 120%. The economic situation is most difficult in the 14 Jewish communities located in the provinces outside Buenos Aires, where poverty is more widespread, and local Jewish communities have less capacity to care for their struggling members.

In times like these, JDC draws on its decades of economic recovery experience in Argentina to solve this challenge. JDC mobilized the four local Jewish agencies that provide care, each stretched by increasing need, and helped maximize resources and reach.

JDC also contributes supplemental support to what the agencies provide to the most vulnerable households. Thousands impacted by this crisis now have food, medicine, and rent support. Additionally, JDC deploys employment training and re-skilling, financial planning, and retiree counseling to address individual needs and get people on a stronger footing.

One community member being supported is Carlos M., 65, who suddenly became unemployed when he couldn’t repair his taxicab given the high costs of parts and gasoline. Existing on limited savings and support from relatives, he approached the local Jewish community for assistance.

Through JDC and its partners, he now receives food, medicine, and guidance with applying for social security to stabilize his situation. JDC’s efforts in Israel, Ukraine, Argentina, and 67 other countries around the world are made possible by generous support provided by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and local Jewish Federations, the Claims Conference, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, individuals, families, foundations, and corporations.

“As Jews are increasingly at risk around the world – facing conflict and disaster, economic tumult,  and rising antisemitism – JDC will be there to provide them comfort, care, and community, rescuing them from vulnerability and putting them on the path to recovery,” says JDC CEO Ariel Zwang.

“But that’s just the start of our work. To build a vibrant Jewish future, we need to foster resilience and preparedness and set in place long-term solutions to keep Jews and Jewish communities safe, strong, and self-sustaining.”

This article was written in cooperation with JDC.