Yahel Israel's Response to the Iran War: 40 Days, over 500 Volunteers, and a Community That Keeps Showing Up

When fighting broke out, Yahel Israel did what it has spent 16 years building the capacity to do: mobilize.

Over the course of 40 days of conflict, Yahel coordinated over 500 volunteers across all four of its regional hubs — Haifa and the North, the Center, the Western Negev and Jerusalem — in partnership with Masa Israel Journey, and local community organizations. The response included Yahel's own Social Change Fellows, Olim Shalav alumni in Haifa, and dozens of Masa groups from across the country.

And as the situation continues to evolve, Yahel remains ready to do it again. 

What volunteers did - and continue to do - on the ground

Projects ranged from direct relief to community infrastructure. Volunteers renovated a youth center in Yerucham, giving it a much-needed refresh during a period when regular programming had been disrupted. Food packaging operations ran simultaneously in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Lod, and Rishon LeZion, with hundreds of packages reaching welfare families, evacuees, and emergency centers.

One of the standout projects was a collaboration with Kulna, a Jerusalem-based organization that works across Arab and Jewish communities. Using funds raised through Yahel's emergency campaign, volunteers — including students from Aardvark and Hartman gap year programs — packed food packages distributed to families ahead of both Eid al-Fitr and Pesach, reaching communities on both sides of the city. 

In Haifa, AEPi Technion students and Yahel fellows packed supply kits for emergency shelters, funded through the campaign.

In Ramat Eliyahu, Rishon LeZion, 50 welfare families received food packages, and 18 tablets were distributed to children from low-income households. Over 100 food packages were also sent to evacuees from Dimona.

Beyond volunteer labor, Yahel used campaign funds to cover the transportation costs of a shelter to an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev, provide emergency equipment for volunteers operating in Haifa, and send emergency supplies to Kibbutz Misgav Am on the northern border. At Misgav Am, this included food packages delivered directly to elderly community members so they wouldn't need to leave their homes, emergency equipment for local shelters, and activity kits for children. 

The emergency campaign

Yahel launched its emergency fundraising campaign with a goal of $20,000. The response from donors far exceeded expectations: the campaign raised close to $44,000, more than double the original target. Those funds went directly into the projects described above, with the campaign closing at the start of Pesach.

Infrastructure that was ready

The scale of Yahel's response was made possible by the organization's hub structure and its established network of grassroots partners — municipal welfare offices and community organizations that were already embedded in their communities when the crisis began. That existing infrastructure allowed Yahel to move quickly, identify needs in real time, and coordinate volunteers across multiple cities simultaneously.

The situation remains uncertain, and Yahel isn't standing down. The 40-day response is not a chapter that's been closed — it's a demonstration of what Yahel, our partnership network, and our grassroots partners are capable of, and a foundation for whatever comes next. 

Return to the Yahel Blog page