The Merage Foundation — founded by Persian Jewish venture philanthropists David and Laura Merage — has committed $1 million to support Beersheva’s Soroka Medical Center, less than a month after an Iranian missile slammed into the southern Israeli hospital.

The missile attack injured at least 80 patients and staff and caused significant damage to the hospital — a leading medical center in Israel, and the only major center serving the Negev region. In the aftermath of the attack, Soroka suspended most of its services, but has since started to resume them slowly.

Following the Oct. 7 terror attacks, the Denver-based foundation had also provided emergency support to the hospital. According to Nicole Hod Stroh, the foundation’s CEO, deciding to support the hospital after the missile attack seemed obvious. 

“The moment we saw that there was a direct hit in Soroka, that same day, David asked me to call our partners,” Hod Stroh told eJewishPhilanthropy.  

The Israeli arm of the foundation has long been involved in philanthropic giving in the Negev region. Since its founding in 1998, the foundation has invested in initiatives to strengthen the region’s economy, among them Synergy 7 —  a Negev-based “innovation hub” founded two years ago that focuses on health care, biotech, robotics and cybersecurity. That work led to a close relationship between the foundation and the hospital. 

“As Soroka mobilizes to treat others under unimaginable circumstances, we stand by its side – as we always have and always will. For the hospital, for the residents of the Negev and for the entire State of Israel,” David Merage said in a statement.

According to Hod Stroh, although the foundation’s work in the region is primarily focused on economic development, without access to health care in Israel’s south, economic growth slows. 

“For us, it’s very clear that even if our focus is jobs, if there’s no good health in the Negev, nobody’s gonna move to the Negev. And so if our aim is to kind of make the Negev this attractive place for young families, health is a critical aspect of it,” she told eJP. 

The foundation has also supported cultural initiatives for the Iranian Jewish community in Israel for over two decades. In 2014, it created a book documenting Jewish life in Iran and Jewish Iranian immigrant stories. The foundation also supports various annual cultural events, including an Iranian books fair, according to its website. 

“Now, it’s become very relevant with the whole issue with Iran,” said Hod Stroh. “But we have 12 chapters on Iranian women in Israel preserving the heritage and women’s empowerment.”