Israeli aid organizations face growing international rejection and difficulty raising funds

Israeli aid organizations have for years been among the first to send humanitarian assistance worldwide. In recent years, however, Israeli aid groups have increasingly faced rejection abroad and growing difficulty raising funds for their life-saving work. According to a survey by SID-Israel – an umbrella organization for Israeli professionals active in international development and humanitarian aid – some 40% of Israeli aid organizations working abroad have experienced a drop in partnerships, while 60% report a reduced ability to raise funds since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

The survey included 20 organizations. Israeli humanitarian aid groups are currently active mainly in Ukraine and in developing countries across Africa and Asia.

“The war has created challenges for Israeli organizations and companies working in international development, but it has also revealed a committed, professional community with a high capacity for adaptation,” SID Israel CEO Ayelet Levin Karp stated.

The decline in partnerships and growing difficulty in raising funds makes it more challenging for Israeli humanitarian aid groups to operate and plan their long-term work. This development has been linked to incidents of antisemitism and growing political pressure to avoid cooperation with Israeli organizations. Around half of the Israeli aid groups reported a dramatic decline in funds, which had serious impact on their work. 

This challenging reality has forced many Israeli aid groups to change the way they work. Some 40% of the surveyed groups said that they were compelled to downplay and even blur their Israeli identity and emphasize universal humanitarian values. Over 25% of the Israeli aid groups said they were increasingly requested to address their political positions concerning the Hamas-initiated war in Gaza. Additionally, insufficient funds have led to employee layoffs among some of the aid groups. 

The sense of growing global isolation has compelled some Israeli aid groups to increasingly focus on funds raised in Israel and to work inside the country. 

Israel has also sent humanitarian aid to countries with which the country currently does not have official diplomatic relations. Last July, for example, Israel sent humanitarian aid and medicine to the embattled Druze community in neighboring Syria, which is threatened by radical Islamist forces affiliated with the new Syrian president Al-Sharaa. 

In February 2023, Israel sent rescue and medical teams to Turkey after the country was hit by a deadly earthquake. Jerusalem also dispatched humanitarian aid to Syria, which was also affected by the earthquake. 

The year before, in March 2022, Israel sent a field hospital to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country. 

“Israel has been extending its hand to render assistance in the crisis in Ukraine for several weeks now, from the very first moment – in various ways,” Israel’s then Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the time. “We are managing this unfortunate crisis with sensitivity, generosity and responsibility, while maintaining a balance between the various factors – and they are complex."

Last January, Israeli aid groups were dispatched to California to provide humanitarian assistance amid the large-scale wildfires.