The Jewish Federations of North America — both the umbrella organization and its individual members — allocated a total of $43 million to northern Israeli communities as the fighting along the Lebanese border has intensified in recent days, the organization said.

“Since shortly after Oct. 7, we have been providing support to those who’ve been evacuated and to those who have remained,” JFNA President and CEO Eric Fingerhut told eJewishPhilanthropy on Thursday. “Within the last few months, the possibility of escalation became pretty [apparent]. So we began to prepare for that, setting aside some funds to make allocations to fortify shelters and help people prepare for [the conflict by] stockpiling goods and such.”

Until now, Jewish federations have allocated more than $32 million to communities and initiatives in the north from their emergency Israel funds, bringing the total to $75 million out of the $854 million that the federation system has raised for Israel since Oct. 7.

The terror group Hezbollah has been launching attacks on northern Israel since Oct. 8 — mainly through rockets, missiles and drones — and the Israel Defense Forces has responded with retaliatory airstrikes. More than 68,000 Israelis from communities near the Lebanese border have been displaced by the fighting. In recent weeks, Israel has launched more extensive and deeper strikes against the Iran-backed group in what it has dubbed “Operation Arrows of the North.” Hezbollah has in turn begun firing larger barrages of missiles and drones deeper into Israel, joined at times by other Iranian proxies in the Middle East.

According to JFNA, the $43 million in additional funds for the north have gone toward security — improving bomb shelters and other infrastructure, as well as supporting civilian security teams — as well as to the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror, to medical and mental health support, to food and housing for displaced people, to reconstruction and to aiding local businesses affected by the war.

Fingerhut said that JFNA was able to make these allocations relatively quickly as the organization and its constituent parts have been laying the groundwork for several months. 

“Because of the ongoing bombing and because there had been some warning of this escalation, we were able to prepare in advance,” he said. “But of course we realize that there will surely be additional consequences of this escalation that we can’t possibly anticipate yet. And we’ll, of course, be ready to respond to those needs as well.”

Jewish federations have faced criticism for the pace of their allocation of the $854 million that they have raised for Israel since Oct. 7 — as of last month, $597.9 million had been allocated, roughly 70% of the total — with critics saying that the federation system should move more quickly in light of Israelis’ significant needs.

JFNA officials have pushed back on this, insisting that they are balancing speed with thoroughness.

“Jewish federations are getting money out of the door as quickly as we responsibly can,” the director of JFNA’s Israel office told eJP last month. “And I really want to stand on both of those qualifiers —  as quickly as we responsibly can.  This work is far from simple, and we — as a philanthropic force — want to be smart and want to be effective, and it really takes time to do that in a way that honors the trust that has been placed on us.”

Fingerhut added that since JFNA is acting on behalf of its donors, it must be even more considerate, lest it betray their trust. “They expect us and we need to steward the funds they provided very, very carefully,” he said.

While he stressed that JFNA has not refused to make allocations in order to have money on hand for future emergencies, the organization’s slower, methodical approach has allowed that to happen.

“We’ve not set aside [funds]. We haven’t said, ‘No, we’re not going to fund this now because we’re saving money for something else.’ We’ve met the needs. But we understood that even with meeting those requests, there are still some funds remaining,” he said. “Anyone who understands what’s happening in Israel and understands the needs and the resources [available] has validated that n we’ve been making these allocations at the right pace in the right way, and that having some funds available for the ongoing emergency is a positive and not, in any way, a negative.”

He added: “We should also be clear that when these funds run out, and the needs continue, we will do what’s necessary to meet the needs.”

Asked if he was concerned that JFNA’s donors were flagging after a year of war in Israel, Fingerhut said the opposite was true.

“We survey and we talk to our donors all the time, and the message [from them] is clear: We understand this is an existential crisis for the State of Israel; we understand this is one of the most challenging moments in recent history; and we’ll be there when additional funds are needed,” he said. “They’re reading the news every day, they see what’s happening. Israelis are under fire. Our beloved State of Israel is under fire. Our brothers and sisters are under fire.”

Fingerhut added: “You don’t have a choice in Israel to get tired. Well, you can get tired, but you don’t have a choice to opt out — and we don’t have a choice to opt out either.”