The United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York (UJA-Fed NY) recently donated $1 million to IsraAID to be used for assisting Palestinians in Gaza. As expected, the move has drawn mixed reactions—strong approval from liberal and progressive sectors of the community, and disdain from more conservative voices.
Before any judgment can be made about the value of this donation, the details deserve careful consideration.
There is no question about the legitimacy of the nongovernmental organization IsraAID. It is a respected group that performs vital humanitarian work and reflects the highest values of the State of Israel. Its mission is to help countries during disasters such as fires, earthquakes, and other emergencies, and its contributions are widely recognized.
In the current Gaza conflict, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories is working with IsraAID to deliver humanitarian assistance. IsraAID’s ability to cooperate with UN agencies and affiliated bodies makes it especially effective in this role.
When announcing the donation, the UJA-Fed NY emphasized the need for Hamas to release the hostages and condemned the group for its crimes. The federation also criticized the international community for adopting Hamas’ narrative. Yet it weakened its own message by justifying the donation with the claim that Jews, too, must not lose their moral compass.
This reasoning has sparked objections. Israel has consistently denied allegations that it enforces a policy of starvation in Gaza, accusing Hamas of spreading propaganda and seizing aid supplies. By invoking Jews’ “moral compass,” UJA-Fed NY inadvertently suggests that Israel bears responsibility for a humanitarian crisis, either partly or entirely.
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At a time when Arab states and Western governments are donating substantial aid and even organizing airdrops to Gaza, UJA-Fed NY’s $1 million appears negligible. Rather than a meaningful contribution, it risks being seen as an effort to gain approval from Western media and institutions.
Such attempts at virtue signaling may backfire. The donation can be used by Israel’s detractors as proof of an acknowledged crisis, reinforcing their claims. While war is by nature chaotic and ugly, and facts are often incomplete, this does not justify yielding to critics who will condemn Israel regardless of evidence.
Many Diaspora communities are prone to making concessions about Israel’s conduct to ease their own sense of guilt, shaped by the often-hostile environments in which they live. These concessions do little to change perceptions and instead weaken solidarity.
Seeking validation from Israel’s opponents only fuels their contempt. Their approval could come only if Jews embrace accusations of genocide, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing—charges that some fringe Jews unfortunately repeat. In doing so, these individuals become convenient shields for those who harbor deep-seated hatred of Jews.
Another mistake is when Diaspora leaders openly denounce Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging that Jews abroad should not be associated with him. A better approach would be to emphasize that Israel is a democracy in which the electorate chooses its leaders, and that the role of the Diaspora is to respect those democratic outcomes.
The donation also comes at a moment when Israel is losing ground in the public relations battle, often referred to as the “eighth front.” Western governments are increasingly considering recognition of Palestinian statehood. Against this backdrop, UJA-Fed NY’s move appears both unwise and poorly timed, providing legitimacy to those accusing Israel of war crimes.
Ignored as well is how many Gazans celebrated October 7 and took part in the atrocities of that day. Since then, there has been no evidence of Gazans assisting hostages; released hostages have consistently said the opposite. By all accounts, local Gazans collaborated with Hamas in the treatment of hostages, leaving no examples of “righteous Gazans.”
The New York context also matters. The city’s favored mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, is an outspoken supporter of Hamas and an ardent critic of Israel. Directing aid to Gazans only strengthens his campaign.
The timing is especially jarring with the 24th anniversary of 9/11 approaching next month. Nearly 3,000 New Yorkers were killed in one of the worst terrorist attacks in history. At the time, Gazans were filmed celebrating in the streets, handing out candy. Yet many New Yorkers today seem to have forgotten—or are too young to remember—those scenes.
There is no shortage of worthy causes the UJA-Fed NY could support. Efforts to equate Israeli and Palestinian losses ignore the reality that Palestinian groups remain committed to Israel’s destruction.
If the UJA-Fed NY truly wished to assist Palestinians in a constructive way, it might have directed funds to joint Israeli-Palestinian initiatives that promote peace and coexistence. Such efforts would better address the roots of the conflict while upholding Israel’s values.