How can you help?

Dear friends and colleagues who care about Israel, peace and prosperity,

Many have asked for my advice on how to help Israel as it rebounds from the brutal 10/7 terrorist attacks. Here’s my answer:?Brothers and Sisters for Israel.

The organization was started by colleagues of mine in Tel Aviv's tech scene. It has relied on start-up-level operational excellence to become?Israel's largest civilian aid organization, with a network of 50,000 volunteers providing critical services to Israelis.

I had dinner Thursday with one of the founders (Lee Moser). We were joined by an IDF Major (Lital Leshem) and a resident of one of the kibbutzes whose house was set on fire by Hamas (Amos Lavi). Above is a photo of Lee, Lital, and me. Lee, Lital, and Amos shared what it was like in Israel on the day of the atrocities and the efforts underway to stabilize the country.

Lital is a successful Israeli entrepreneur and investor who continues to serve as a reserve soldier. After hearing the sirens on Oct. 7, she?immediately put on her uniform and reported for duty. Six months pregnant with her first child, her husband pleaded with her not to go. She spoke about how there was no chance she wouldn’t help defend her country.

Amos, whose house was set ablaze by the terrorists, recounted how he shielded his 38-week pregnant wife and dog in his secure room. He will never forget covering his wife’s eyes as they escaped their burning home with the help of the IDF after 8 hours. He didn’t want her to see the bloody bodies of neighbors and their murderers on the ground.

Lital and Amos said without reserve that there is no more effective organization on the ground today in Israel than Brothers and Sisters for Israel. This feeling is shared by 2 friends who are among the most knowledgeable people I know about Israel and the Middle East.

Kass and I are throwing our support (money and time) behind the organization because of its staggeringly effective results. In just the opening month of the war, the organization has been able to do the following:?

• Establish and operate 4 centers for displaced citizens for supplies and donated equipment.?
• Acquire and deliver to the IDF tens of thousands of military supplies, including tactical vests and helmets.?
• Conduct emergency rescue and evacuation of 12,000 civilians and soldiers from border communities in southern and northern Israel.?
• Deliver more than 200,000 meals to families and soldiers.
• Distribute 30,000 mobile device charges to soldiers in the field.?
• Build an AI center with more than 500 volunteers operating?24/7 to identify and locate missing and kidnapped people in partnership with the authorities.?
• Build a database of 12,500 homes and hosting options for displaced families.
• Acquire, collect, and distribute over 40,000 pieces of medical equipment.
• Set up a medical headquarters adjacent to Tel Hashomer Sheba Hospital.?
• Pick crops and milk cows in farms abandoned near the Gaza border.

This is just the beginning. While Brothers and Sisters is focused on critical services today in Israel, the organization has planted the seeds to build a global network here to combat antisemitism, starting with our college campuses.

We believe this organization is very important with a big vision and the execution chops to achieve it. The founding team’s background in the Israeli military and tech industry gives Brothers and Sisters for Israel a greater chance than any group we have encountered to scale into a really large global force for good in Israel and beyond. The leaders and volunteers embody the tenacious and gritty can-do, get-it-done spirit?that has made Israel such an important innovation engine for the world.?

Please join us in supporting Brothers and Sisters by donating here:?https://www.brothersandsistersforisrael.org/donations.?100% of all donations go to the organization's programs. And please let me know if you do so I can include you in future local efforts.

Thanks!

MML

P.S. Amos and his wife now live in an apartment the group secures, fully stocked with a year’s worth of essentials, including diapers for their healthy 2-week-old baby.