Over 40,000 Israeli volunteers mobilized during Israel-Iran war

Since its rebirth in 1948, Israel has demonstrated remarkable mobilizing capabilities in the face of persistent and serious challenges. A recent survey of 99 Israeli organizations revealed that 42,180 volunteers across Israeli society assisted 213,884 fellow citizens during the recent Israel–Iran war.

The findings showed that 61% of these organizations primarily provided emotional support to those in need. In addition, 25% offered educational activities, 19% distributed food, 14% supplied transportation equipment, and 11% helped raise funds for various causes. Nearly two-thirds of the surveyed organizations operated on a national scale.

Prof. Michal Almog-Bar, the head of Hebrew University’s Institute for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy and the co-author of the report, emphasized the wide range of volunteering activities across Israel.

“The activity was very varied,” she said in an interview with the Times of Israel, adding that volunteering in Israel is exceptional by international standards.

“It shows the huge resilience of society. During a crisis, we have solutions for nearly everything. I don’t know this from other countries,” Almog-Bar said.

Reflecting on the chaos following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, she noted that the volunteer efforts during last month’s Iran war were “more developed and professional this time,” likely due to the experience accumulated over more than 20 months of ongoing conflict.

“We have turned into an emergency response empire, and there’s much to learn from us. In other countries, there is volunteering in emergencies, but not at the same scale and for such a length of time,” Almog-Bar stated.

For instance, last November, the Israeli nonprofit organization “Brothers in Arms” announced it would renovate homes in the rural community Kfar Aza, which were damaged by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack.

Much of the civilian volunteer effort has emerged in response to the government and local authorities’ inability to fully meet the financial, psychological, social, and humanitarian needs amid the ongoing war.

The professor argues that Israelis display a unique capability to unite amid times of crisis.

“In these cases, we are all Israelis, concern for our communities is very strong, and we manage to overcome our political differences, which will return shortly after. We had the coronavirus, followed by a few more security events, and then the events of October 7,” Almog-Bar explained.

She elaborated on the underlying psychological reasons that so many Israelis volunteer to help fellow citizens during emergencies.

“People are experiencing emergency situations more often. We also see that volunteering provides benefits for both the volunteers and the recipients – a sense of calm that comes from being occupied. People want to feel they are helping and that if something happens to them, others will help them too. We have seen that anyone can suffer harm. Everyone is in the same existential anxiety.”

Orly Schwarz, a 46-year-old wife and mother of two children who runs a social event business, explained why she decided to step up her volunteering efforts after the October attacks.

“I’m a person who can’t just observe or be helpless. It’s in my DNA to act,” Schwarz said. “In the beginning, I joined lots of online groups to learn what was needed. I saw soldiers who lacked equipment or food, and civilians who had to be evacuated, and I linked them with people who could help. At the start, it was only me,” she recalled.

Over time, her volunteer efforts expanded in scope and became more structured.

“The food is more organized now,” Schwarz continued. “Today we are asked mainly for things that raise morale – we do lots of barbecues – or that help the home front, because that’s important to the soldiers.”

She stressed the importance of supporting Israel’s soldiers who defend the country and are often serving for months without seeing their own families.

“We have soldiers who are hardly at home for months. We send them things that are part of normality, of the life they remember, that they can hope to return to.”