On the morning of Oct. 7, Jordyn Engel awoke to two text messages from friends in the United States asking if she was safe. Puzzled, she checked her Red Alert app and saw that there was a barrage of rockets in Israel’s south, what she thought was “nothing too unusual.” But when she logged onto Instagram and saw videos from southern Israel, she knew this was a terrorist attack like none other she had witnessed. Glued to the news, she felt helpless. Together with her good friend and former Brooklyn resident Batya Goldberg, the two decided to do something small to lift the spirits of soldiers that had dropped everything and rushed to their units following the mass enlistment of the Israel Defense Forces.
Engel met Goldberg a few years ago during their studies at Tel Aviv University. A native of Springfield, New Jersey Engel grew up in a secular home and her passion for Israel grew at Tevya sleepaway camp in New Hampshire. When COVID hit and her classes at the University of Maryland, where she was about to begin her freshman year, pivoted to Zoom-only courses, it was Engel’s mother who suggested that her daughter spend the semester in Israel.
One semester turned into three years. Engel completed her degree and decided to make aliyah last March with the support and guidance of Nefesh B’Nefesh and enlist in the IDF together with Goldberg.
Come Oct. 7, the two were already living on a kibbutz in northern Israel, preparing for their January enlistment along with other new olim who would join the army together through Garin Tzabar. But the war put a pause on their preparations as they shifted into complete focus on war relief efforts. On Oct. 8, the two drafted an Instagram post calling on friends and family to donate funds via a Venmo link for the purchase of snacks, toiletries and phone chargers to help soldiers, especially those that did not have time to pack. By the end of that day, they had already raised $4,000.
It did not take long for the two to realize that they could raise significant funds for more than basic care packages. As donations continued to pour in, they began asking friends and acquaintances in the military what were their greatest needs. Many of those needs included tactical equipment, such as goggles, ceramic vests, boots and knee pads. Engel and Goldberg received exact details of the requirements of the purchase, including the proper supplier, brand and size and color of each item, to ensure that it met the IDF’s requirements. The pair would then vet the request to make sure that no other shipment of the same supplies was arriving for that unit.
At the onset of the war, the IDF insisted that there was no shortage of tactical equipment and assured that all combat units would receive the necessary gear. Nonetheless, some soldiers complained that the equipment they received was old or insufficient, while other soldiers not on the front lines but still serving in combat roles claimed that they were lacking important protective gear. This led the way to numerous grassroots initiatives, including the campaign led by Engel and Goldberg.
A true grassroots effort has indeed fueled their initiative. Often Engel or Goldberg purchase the equipment on their own. Through a variety of WhatsApp groups, they identify volunteers that are able to deliver the equipment directly to the soldiers. Sometimes Engel or Goldberg will drive to the unit in order to make the delivery or send another volunteer to purchase the equipment.
In just over two months, the pair has raised $90,000 from generous donors around the globe. Donations have slowed down since the first weeks of the war, but the two are still pushing forward to meet the continued needs of soldiers. They have received many requests for winter clothing including warm fleeces and jackets, and much of their recent focus has been on getting these provisions to soldiers.
Just a few weeks ago, a soldier from Yahalom, an elite unit of the IDF’s combat engineering corps, was interviewed by an Israeli news channel about a weapons cache that was uncovered in Gaza. Engel saw a photo of his interview and noticed that he was wearing new boots that she purchased for his unit. Seeing her donation in action was a meaningful moment for her. “My donation had actually gone somewhere and it was being put to use,” she said. “You see these platoons and these units and you see how many soldiers are holding the portable chargers you bought, how many soldiers are wearing the boots you bought, how many soldiers are wearing the knee pads you bought. You can see what you have done has made a difference not only in 10, not only in 50, but hundreds of soldiers.”
Engel expressed that she still feels she could be doing more and hopes to continue these relief efforts, at least until her early January enlistment date. “Everybody that had donated — we had all done something so powerful and so important together,” she said. “Just to know you have made their lives just a little bit easier and made them feel just a little bit more secure and a little bit more protected while they are defending and protecting me is a really amazing feeling.”
Donations for supplies can be made via Venmo to @jordynengel
Alisa Bodner is a Fair Lawn native who immigrated to Israel a decade ago. She is a nonprofit management professional who enjoys writing in her free time.
