In January, I’ll join the Jewish Federation of St. Louis’ Israel and Overseas Committee on a mission to see firsthand the impact of Federation funding in Israel. The committee is responsible for making funding decisions for Federation partners in Israel, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Joint Distribution Committee, Partnership2Gether and several NGOs throughout the country that provide services aligned with Federation’s priority giving areas.
The group recently gathered for a briefing with Karen Sher, chief impact officer at Federation and Eliad Eliyahu Ben Shushan, the Federation’s representative in Israel. In addition to managing St. Louis’s connection with its Partnership Region of Yokneam, Megiddo and Kibbutz Nachal Oz, Ben Shushan serves as the Director of Israel Impact and Global Philanthropy for the St. Louis and Atlanta Federations.
For many in our delegation, this will be a return to familiar ground. For me, it’s a first trip to Israel and my first chance to see how our community’s giving reaches beyond St. Louis to meet urgent needs and strengthen lives.
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Building relationships that matter
Sher said the mission reflects how the Federation’s work in Israel has evolved. “Having Eliad there gives us real boots on the ground,” she said. “He helps us build relationships with the NGOs we fund and brings back firsthand understanding.”
Ben Shushan, who lives in Akko, shared that the trip will take us across the country from northern Druze villages to Kibbutz Nachal Oz near Gaza. “The last five years have been difficult for Israel,” he said. “It began with COVID, then the war and now the process of rebuilding. These visits let you meet Israelis face to face, people who’ve lived through challenge and are finding ways to recover.”
Seeing the impact up close
The Federation Israel trip will highlight programs focused on recovery, education and community strength. One of our first stops will be Kibbutz Nachal Oz, which St. Louis adopted as a partner community after the Oct. 7 attacks. Ben Shushan told us he was there the day after survivors arrived in the partnership region, helping them find safety and begin again.
“This isn’t just about rebuilding homes,” he said. “It’s about helping people rebuild their sense of safety and belonging.”
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We’ll also spend time in Yokneam, Megiddo and the Galilee, meeting with Federation-supported organizations that work in education, job training and social inclusion. “Our job is to make sure Federation funds create real change,” said Elliot Kleiman, incoming chair of the Israel and Overseas Committee. “Supporting Israelis in recovery, education and daily life is part of that. It’s what our community expects from us.”
Sitting in that meeting, I could feel it, a shared understanding that our work in Israel is as much about partnership as philanthropy.
Telling the story home
One of my goals is to bring those stories back to St. Louis, not as an outsider but as a member of this community who’s finally seeing the work in person. Many in our city, me included, grew up aware of the Federation without fully understanding what it does in Israel. That’s what I hope to change.
Sher said the trip will also help shape the Federation’s next phase of giving. “We want to make thoughtful choices,” she said, “about which organizations to continue funding, how to balance ongoing needs with post-Oct. 7 recovery and how to build for the future.”
When the delegation lands in Jerusalem, it will not just be another mission abroad. It will be a reminder of what shared purpose looks like and how a mid-size Midwestern city can still make an outsized difference halfway around the world.
