Responding to the dire humanitarian crisis facing Syrian civilian refugees, the Jewish Coalition for Syrian Refugees in Jordan is calling on the Jewish community to raise more funds to aid the growing Syrian refugee population in Jordan’s urban areas and refugee camps. Donations will supplement over $200,000 the Coalition already dispersed to Jordanian and international partners operating nonpolitical aid programs providing food, water, shelter, medical care, clothing and other services. Dr. Georgette Bennett, whose $100,000 lead gift kicked-off the Coalition’s work, has just issued a $50,000 two for one matching grant challenge to the Coalition by Labor Day to encourage Jewish community support to ensure critical care for languishing refugees.

The Coalition, a 16-member sub-group of the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief, is already supporting the work of the Jordan Red Crescent, World Jewish Relief (for Save the Children), International Rescue Committee and HIAS in the areas of food distribution, medical programs and resettlement activities.

Members of Coalition include: the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Jewish Federations of North America, Mazon, Rabbinical Assembly, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Union for Reform Judaism, United Synagogue Conservative Judaism, Ve’ahavta, World Jewish Congress and World Jewish Relief.

Over the past several years, the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief has responded to major crises in Sudan, Haiti, Japan and the Horn of Africa.