History - Important contacts

For several years, we have had the privilege of partnering with Joel Golden, an American-Israeli Commander in the IDF. The Golden family has dedicated their lives to serving the people of Israel, particularly through a ministry focused on feeding the impoverished. In addition to their humanitarian efforts, they have launched The Golden Report (TGR News), a vital resource that provides timely, up-to-the-minute news and updates directly from within Israel. 

Like us, Joel’s father, Jerry Golden, has long felt called to assist in bringing Jewish people back to their ancestral homeland. Jerry has always understood that when the time comes, the most practical and safest means of accomplishing this will be by sea. Their unwavering commitment to both the physical and spiritual restoration of the Jewish people has been a powerful force driving the ongoing fulfillment of this mission.

This understanding and training were put into action following the October 7th war, when intense fighting between Israel and Iran led to the closure of Israel’s airspace, leaving tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad. With commercial flights grounded, Joel Golden responded swiftly, organizing a group of boaters and coordinating multiple journeys across the Mediterranean to assist those in need. Using private sailboats and yachts captained by experienced skippers, he helped navigate individuals safely back to their homeland and informed and advised the Ministry of Interior to prepare for the many boats arriving at Israel’s ports.

In 2021, we decided to start traveling in person to see the operations and organizations overseas that we had been donating to. We had some doubts about how the money we were sending was actually being spent. We began researching and arranging meetings with several entities—but then Covid hit. We were unable to travel and had to put our plans on hold. Instead, we began conducting even deeper research into both small and large organizations that seemed to share our goals.

In February 2022, Israel reopened her borders, and just before that, the war in Ukraine began. Through the connections we had made the previous year, we started to hear about the many Jewish people trying to flee Ukraine and make Aliyah to Israel. We knew this would be a valuable opportunity to see things firsthand and to provide any immediate help we could.

A small group of us booked flights to assess the situation firsthand. The closest access point was Romania, from where we drove from Bucharest to the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. Our objective was to verify the effectiveness of the organizations we had supported, evaluate emerging needs, and provide immediate assistance where possible. What we encountered underscored the urgency of the crisis and highlighted the essential role of coordinated, transparent efforts in supporting those seeking refuge and making Aliyah under such challenging conditions. Warehouses were filled with Jewish refugees living in temporary limbo, searching for safe passage out of the region. Local synagogues were overwhelmed, striving to support entire families as they sought a path to safety. We were able to donate funds directly to private entities that were using their own resources to assist those in need. One local family that owned a chain of grocery stores personally financed storage facilities to shelter and feed refugees, while others organized donation centers to provide clothing and essential supplies.

A bakery in Ukraine that supplied the Jewish community of Krivoi Rog had increased its bread production to run around the clock, donating everything it baked to those in need. To support their efforts, we began covering the cost of flour. 

We made numerous valuable connections that have since grown into effective, ongoing partnerships.

While in Moldova we were fortunate enough to meet volunteers from United Hatzalah, an Israeli volunteer-based emergency medical services (EMS) organization that provides free nationwide emergency care from its headquarters in Jerusalem. Founded in 2006, it has grown into the world’s largest independent, non-profit, fully volunteer EMS organization, with more than 8,000 volunteer first responders across Israel and additional chapters in Panama and Ukraine. 

United Hatzalah was also providing boots-on-the-ground volunteer aid in Ukraine after the war broke out, when we met in Moldova and partnered with them to help fund emergency flights for Jewish civilians fleeing the war-torn region. We have continued our partnership with United Hatzalah, helping fund various missions—from outfitting their rescue boats on the Sea of Galilee with infrared cameras to purchasing airfare and even renting entire commercial planes to help people fly out of Ukraine to Poland, and then on to Israel. 

While conducting our missions in Moldova, we met a young man named Oatneil who was working with Ebenezer Operation Exodus Israel, an international Christian organization founded in 1991 to assist Jewish people returning to Israel. After donating funds for Oatneil to purchase a van—allowing him to transport families fleeing Ukraine—we later traveled to Germany to meet with Ebenezer’s president, Johanes. 

This connection then led us to Cyprus, where we met Daniel and Irene Ioannides, who are collaborating with Ebenezer to prepare boats for emergency transport of Jewish people from the ports of Cyprus across the Mediterranean Sea to Israel. 

These meaningful connections have developed into strong, fruitful partnerships, and we remain committed to supporting these ministries and helping wherever we can. 

In 2022, during our research—when we couldn’t fly—we came across an article about Aliyah written by Leah Aharoni. We reached out to her, and it turned out that as we were exploring the possibility of going to Moldova because of the war, she was able to give us detailed information about exactly where to go and what to look for there. At the time, she was also shipping food to Jewish communities in Moldova and Ukraine, and we helped fund that effort. 

Our People was created by Leah Aharoni and Rabbi Pinchos Shwalb in the wake of the war in Ukraine and the need to rescue Jews from both Ukraine and Russia. Their organization has assisted over 1,500 Ukrainian and Russian Jewish families via consulting lines, absorption coordinators, airline ticket grants, food assistance, legal clinic, and educational programs.

We have continued to support her work, including at one point covering the transport fees for a group of 50 people. 

Dorron Kline was born in Cape Town and raised in Bulawayo and Johannesburg. He made Aliyah to Israel in 1985 and served in the IDF as a combat lone soldier in the tank corps. After receiving his Orthodox Rabbinic Ordination in Jerusalem, Dorron and his family returned to South Africa for a period of time. Since their return to Israel in 2006, he has worked at Telfed, becoming its CEO in 2013. Established in 1948, Telfed—the South African Zionist Federation (Israel)—was created to assist new olim from Southern Africa with their absorption process. Today, Dorron works closely to support and empower former Southern Africans and Australians as they build their lives and contribute to Israeli society. Dorron has even traveled to Texas to meet with us in person, and we have provided financial support for his important work in Israel. 

The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) is an international non-governmental organization based in Jerusalem. Founded in 1929, its core mission is to strengthen the global Jewish community’s connection to Israel by supporting Jewish life worldwide and encouraging immigration and settlement in the State of Israel. 

We met with the Jewish Agency during our time in Romania and were able to donate funds to help purchase additional airplane tickets for Jewish civilians seeking to escape the war and make Aliyah to Israel. We witnessed dozens of families boarding the very flights we helped support, and we have continued partnering with the Agency donating to them to provide further aid, relief, and transportation assistance.

Rabbi Dov Lipman is an Israeli politician and former Knesset member, as well as the founder of Yad L’Olim, an organization dedicated to helping Jews make Aliyah and settle in Israel with dignity and proper support. We were introduced to him through Leah Aharoni. At the time, due to COVID restrictions, we were unable to travel and personally distribute funds in Israel. Rabbi Lipman approached the Knesset on our behalf—and on behalf of others seeking to assist the Jewish people—advocating for the restrictions to be lifted. Soon after, we were able to travel through Israel, and we contributed to his foundation to help provide food, clothing, and essential paperwork support for new olim.

We’ve had several meetings with Yehuda Glick and have donated to Amitsim, the organization he founded together with Hadass Dissen. Amitsim is dedicated to supporting young widows and widowers raising orphaned children in Israel, providing them with community, emotional support, and practical assistance during an incredibly difficult time.