Diaspora Jews volunteer in Israel amid Gaza War, surging antisemitism in their communities

The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs has brought thousands of volunteers to Israel since last November in cooperation with Mosaic United and Taglit-Birthright.

The volunteers, aged 18 - 40, partner with Israeli organizations, including Leket Israel and HaShomer HaChadash to work in the agricultural sector, providing packages to those in need, and more.

Following Oct. 7 massacre and subsequent war in Gaza, 10,000 foreign workers left Israel, including around 7,000 workers from Thailand. Because Israel relies heavily on foreign workers, this exodus contributed to an existential crisis for Israel’s farmers and spurred volunteers from abroad to travel to the Jewish state and help out in the fields and the orchards.

One Canadian volunteer, 24-year-old Jasmine, said she was motivated to come after experiencing antisemitism at her university. She visited Israel for the first time last year and has returned three times since then.

“When I arrived in Israel, I felt much safer and at home, despite my relative proximity to the war zones,” Jasmine said.

Rochelle (23), a volunteer from New York, quit her job as a teacher in Brooklyn to volunteer in Israel after experiencing antisemitism.

“I feel very meaningful here. This is the Jewish state, and this is the least we can do to help our brothers and sisters in Israel. I am so proud to be here,” she said.

Diaspora Ministry Director Avi Cohen-Scali said, “Thousands of Jews from around the world come to volunteer and support Israel, especially during this difficult time since October 7 – it's moving and heartwarming. Most of these volunteers, who were young, became the best ambassadors Israel could ask for."

The CEO of Birthright Israel, Gidi Mark, said the volunteer program, which started last November has, so far, brought 4,000 volunteers to Israel from all over world and that by the end of year, the organization expects that number to reach 7,000.

“Besides their volunteer work, they will return home with an authentic set of tools to explain and defend Israel,” Mark said.

Volunteers of all ages have come to Israel to help.

Sixty-three year old volunteer Angela Maddahi spent time in southern Israel sorting olives, making carob juice and cleaned the orchards.

She came away disillusioned.

“I hoped to find stories of Gazans who helped the wounded, much as we heard of Righteous Gentiles in World War II. I refuse to believe that all Gazans or Palestinians are evil. But the stories I heard broke my belief… While I previously believed that only Hamas terrorists infiltrated, raped, and murdered, we heard eye-witness accounts to the opposite. Gazan civilians came over the border to rape and murder Israelis. Some came to plunder, engaged in looting without any moral regard,” she wrote in the Jewish Journal.

Other groups have organized volunteer missions to Israel since the Hamas invasion and terror attack on Oct. 7.

In December, the Chabad Young Professionals Mission to Israel (CYP) brought young professionals to the Jewish state for a week to provide support to southern Israeli communities that were devastated by the Oct. 7 terror attack. One of them was Amanda Oppenheimer from New York City.

“Ever since Oct. 7, I’ve been struggling with everything going on and trying to figure out how I can support Israel from New York. Giving donations wasn’t enough. I felt like I was being drawn to Israel and needed to show the people there that we care about them and that they should see our dedication in person,” Oppenheimer said.

Russ Krivor, a community leader at CYP Upper East Side noted that the volunteer help is significant at this time.

“We must go and help the country in any way we can: assisting farmers with the fall harvest, delivering crucial supplies, writing Torah scrolls with soldiers, and supporting displaced families,” Krivor said.