The role of a charitable organization is to provide assistance to people in need, unbound by the limitations of a profit incentive. From international charitable organizations like Doctors Without Borders (MSF) that provide medical assistance to anyone in need, regardless of background, to more localized charities like Feeding America, an organization focused on solving the hunger crisis in the United States, these groups work to help people who have fallen through the cracks and lack basic needs. For Israeli citizens, and for Jewish people living abroad, there is the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), an organization that works to build interfaith relationships and use them to provide Jews everywhere with humanitarian aid and lifesaving care.
Founded in 1983 by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, and currently led by President and CEO Yael Eckstein, IFCJ has spent decades building strong relationships between Jewish and Christian communities that have directly led to greater understanding and cooperation between the two faiths. The strength of those bonds has allowed the IFCJ to help hundreds of thousands of Jews escape poverty and antisemitism, relocate to Israel, and fund critical aid to victims of war and terror. President Yael Eckstein is working hard to leverage IFCJ’s 2.6 million supporters and over $230 million in annual donations toward solving a new crisis: one of Israeli poverty, stagnating wages, and insufficient salaries.
The Israeli Economic Crisis
Amidst ongoing regional conflict and generational harm, Israelis at home are finding themselves increasingly vulnerable to poverty. Later, another Israeli nonprofit aid organization published its annual poverty report in December of 2024 and shed light on the economic situation of millions of Israeli citizens. The report defines poverty as a significant deprivation in relation to basic living needs and conditions, and by that metric over 3 million Israeli citizens qualify. Over 678,000 families and 2.756 million individuals (22.3% and 28.7% of the relevant group respectively) are living in poverty—including 1,240,000 children. With nearly 40% of Israeli children living in poverty, critical aid is clearly necessary, but so is asking the question: what has happened to cause this decline?
Latet’s report names a number of causes, with specific mention of the rising cost of basic goods, stagnating wages and salaries, and general increases in cost of living. The minimum monthly cost of living increased 6.5-6.9% over the prior year—double the growth in the Consumer Price Index—which played a pivotal role. This created a secondary poverty line in Israel, where individuals could make more than the 4,105 shekels per month needed to be above the official poverty line, but less than the 5,355 shekels needed to maintain basic living standards. The disparity becomes clearer when the monthly expenditure of supported households is examined; the average expenditure is 10,367 shekels, but their net monthly income averages only 6,092—a difference of 1.7 times. Food insecurity is reported by 80% of beneficiaries, with over 62% reporting skipping meals due to lack of funds. Half of parents in these conditions had to give up or reduce infant formula for their babies, compared to 12% of the general population.
With such a discrepancy between what is needed versus what is earned in wages, it’s thus unsurprising that debt is endemic to households living in poverty. 78.8% of households struggling in this way report outstanding loans, compared to 26.9% of the general population. Over 69% of the population cannot afford to repair severe home defects, over 84% face energy shortages, and 22%, of the electricity was disconnected entirely.
Latet’s leadership has no illusions about what is to come, saying, “The combination of inflation, high interest rates, an anti-social government budget, and the ongoing costs of recovery from the war, will likely push thousands more low-middle-class families into severe deprivation. . . Solidarity and mutual responsibility will determine whether we emerge from this crisis stronger or weaker.”
IFCJ Is Stepping In To Help
Between the limitations of official governmental policy and the ongoing strain of the recent conflict, it’s clear that Latet’s final statements are correct: solidarity and mutual responsibility are the way forward. President Yael Eckstein and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews understand this and are prepared to leverage their resources and expertise toward solving the poverty crisis at home. Under Yael Eckstein’s leadership, The Fellowship has grown into one of the largest Jewish philanthropic organizations on the planet.
“We answer the biblical call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and provide shelter to the poor (Isaiah 58:7) through on-the-ground, lifesaving care, food, and support for impoverished Jews, elderly, and Holocaust survivors.” — International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
While supporting fellowship, providing security, and helping other Jews make aliyah and immigrate to Israel are oft-touted programs of the IFCJ, their largest program is dedicated to alleviating the strain of poverty. 76% of every donation goes toward providing humanitarian care, aid, and outreach, with 63% of that going directly to basic assistance programs providing food and other necessities to Jews in need. The organization has aided over 800,000 people in this way so far and plans to expand its operations in the coming years.
Leadership and Transparency
A significant amount of IFCJ’s humanitarian effectiveness comes from its transparency and leadership. With a Platinum Seal of Transparency and Inclusion from Candid, donors can trust that their donations will go where they’re needed most, and the organization’s public financial statements, reports, and tax forms give ample evidence to the clarity of their mission and operations. IFCJ also strives to follow the Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship, as defined by the ECFA. Everything from donation information to Yael Eckstein’s salary is public information—a level of transparency any charity should strive to meet.
CEO and President Yael Eckstein has been a major architect in both the organization’s transparency policies and their expanding humanitarian aid operations. With over a decade of nonprofit leadership, multiple published books, and a history of thought leadership, Yael Eckstein is a proven social services professional dedicated to helping those in need with transparency and dedication. Her vision for the organization includes digging deeper into the causes of the Israeli poverty crisis in order to provide even more critical aid.
