Pro-Israel groups are coming together to show their support for Israel while helping the needy as well.
Major British and American pro-Israel groups are launching this year’s rendition of an annual global initiative calling on supporters to buy Israeli-made food items to be donated to local charities during the holiday season.
The initiative, called IsraAction Day, officially launches December 18 with the mission not only to support Israeli companies, but also to “beat the boycotts” and “give support to the needy in local communities during the Christmas/Chanukah season,” organizers said.
“This is a time of giving and charity,” said the initiative’s co-chair, Raphi Bloom of North West Friends of Israel. “It’s a perfect way for families to engage in a positive action. Go to a mainstream supermarket—frequently the targets of boycotts—buy Israeli goods and then donate them to Jewish and non-Jewish charities.”
IsraAction Day was started in 2014 by two British pro-Israel groups—Sussex Friends of Israel and the North West Friends of Israel. The initiative was adopted by major Jewish communal groups in the UK, and by 2015 it spread to South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, France and Germany.
Organizers hope this year’s efforts will be even larger with the addition of StandWithUs, an American pro-Israel education and advocacy organization, which will lead IsraAction Day efforts through its local chapters in communities throughout the US.
“One of the things we are so proud of is the Israeli spirit of giving back to the country. In that spirit, we’ll use it to BIG (Buy Israeli Goods). Now more than ever, we need you to show your support for Israel and Buy Israeli Goods and continue to do so as part of IsrAction Day 2016,” said Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs.
In 2014, thousands of British shoppers heeded the call made by pro-Israel action groups to buy Israeli-made groceries for the needy during IsrAction Day – a “national grassroots campaign standing up for Israel and supporting your community.”
Father Ian Tomlinson of the Central Manchester Food Bank expressed his gratitude to people who had contributed to the project, saying: “We feed 75 people per week, so the food donated by IsrAction will go a long way to helping this year.”
By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff
