Anyone else confused by the commercial about starving Jews in Jerusalem?

vanity | 12/11/11 | winston's julia

[Winstons Julia]

I had seen commercials for that organization International Fellowship of Christians and Jews about helping Jews in the former USSR, but they have a new commercial now. They ask for 25$ to feed starving Jews in Jerusalem. They say they'll stick in a blessing note.

I wasn't aware that Jerusalem was having a problem feeding its citizens.

Does anyone have additional info?

[GreatRoad]

Yes, very strange. I thought it was a joke at first.

[SoftwareEngineer]

“Starving” is a huge exaggeration. There is poverty in Israel like in any other first world country.

The “poverty” is relative. Comparing the poor in Israel to the poor in Ethiopia is apples and oranges.

However, there are a lot of religious Jews (Haredim) that fall below the official “poverty line” set up by the Israeli goverment.

Please do keep in mind that the State of Israel has a very generous welfare policy and your money may be better spent elsewhere.

[hitchwolf]

It’s con to steal your money IMO. It’s not the Israeli government, or anyone connected to the government asking for money. It’s an American based tax exempt not for profit Chicago based American group.

I’d be shocked if any of the money they got ever actually even went to feed anyone.

[Winstons Julia]

I actually looked up the charity and don’t see where they are not legit.

I was just surprised at the commercial.

[Ditter]

I got a request for donations in the mail quite a while ago for the starving Jews. I did not donate.

[Ann Archy]

I think it’s aimed at Christians, not Jews. I sincerely don’t believe that Jews would let other Jews starve....ANYWHERE, but especially in Israel.

[Ann Archy]

My Jewish husband HATES this commercial and think it’s a fraud.

[earglasses]

I was rather startled by the commercial’s implication that Israel is a third-world nation. According to the CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html), that's far from the truth:

National GDP per capita rankings (PPP 2010 US$):
42 - European Union $32,700
43 - Italy $30,500
44 - Monaco $30,000
45 - South Korea $30,000
46 - Israel $29,800

All is not rosy, however. Nearly a quarter (23.6%) of their populace lives at or below the local poverty line of $7.30 per person per day. And like the U.S., the economy exports less than it imports. They rely on private and U.S. largess to make up the difference.

[jacquej]

I am with your husband. I have good intuition, and can smell a scam quicker than a hummingbird.

Do you remember the commercials with the same guy wanting donations for the poor Jews in Russia who couldn’t celebrate Hannukah? (Hope I spelled that right1)

Perhaps they do send some boxes over, but I have a feeling someone is making a nice living skimming a lot off the top.

[RegulatorCountry]

Suspect statistics. Italy belongs to the European Union.

[rabidralph]

I knew it was a scam because the guy was saying nice things about christians.

[almost done by half]

For what they spend on all those commercials they could send these people lobster dinners!

[mnehring]

Jerusalem has a large population of Senior Citizens without families. People who have escaped persecution in other countries like Russia where families didn’t come with them or didn’t survive. They don’t have families to support them and the communities there have usually always helped but like everywhere else in the world, you will still find poverty.

I much prefer these voluntary programs over government sponsored programs.

[mnehring]

This is a good organization with a good track record.

[DemforBush]

I saw this commercial recently. Made my spidey-sense tingle something fierce. Felt more like one of those “Buy Gold Now!” commercials than any legitimate charity ad I’ve seen. Very slick, very hard-sell. I could be dead wrong, of course, but I would need to do some serious investigation before I could feel comfortable sending them any money.

[PLMerite]

I sent them money a couple years ago to provide Passover meals for Holocaust survivors in the former Soviet Union.

I swear they’ve spent every dime of my money on mailings to get me to send more money.

[Winstons Julia]

“They don’t have families to support them and the communities there have usually always helped but like everywhere else in the world, you will still find poverty.”

I guess this is what bothered me. It seems odd that there would be these formerly persecuted Jewish senior citizens starving in Jerusalem as portrayed in the commercial. Certainly Israel has programs to prevent this?

[hitchwolf]

Well I hope so.

[skr]

I’d seen their commercials for the Jewish elderly in Siberia. If aid is needed in Israel, perhaps this will explain some of the need. From http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/religious/international-fellowship-of-christians-and-jews-in-chicago-il-1962 (edited into paragraphs for readability):

IFCJ’s On Wings of Eagles program, working through Keren Hayesod and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), funds aliyah (immigration to Israel for needy Jews around the world, and provides them with klitah (resettlement) assistance to help ensure that they become full, productive citizens of Israel

Working through various charities in the former Soviet Union, Isaiah 58 funds the distribution of food, clothing, medicine, heating fuel, and other essential needs to the poor elderly and children in the former Soviet Union.

Working through charities in Israel, Guardians of Israel funds initiatives that aim to ease the suffering of needy Israelis, providing them with food, housing, medical care, clothing, and other essentials

Stand for Israel engages people both spiritually and politically on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people, encouraging them to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” and providing them with the facts they need to advocate for the Jewish State and fight anti-Israel bias.