The Jewish Agency for Israel announced at a press briefing on July 8 that its COVID-19 Loan Fund for Communities in Crisis, an emergency initiative that helps Jewish institutions around the world bridge immediate gaps in cash flow amid the pandemic, has in its initial phase granted a total of $9.65 million to 23 communities with urgent needs and as Jewish casualties mount to 2,200 outside the US and FSU. The Loan Fund, as well as the recently launched Global Roundtable Initiative, are part of The Jewish Agency’s response to the detrimental impact of the coronavirus on Jewish communities and seek to address the challenges facing Jewish communities around the world.

By granting no-interest loans to organizations providing services essential to the continuing existence of Jewish communities which are now at-risk to survive the COVID-19 crisis, the Loan Fund enables those communities to continue to function, serve their members, and avoid complete collapse.

Launched in April by The Jewish Agency and its partners, Keren Hayesod and Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), the fund has received 80 loan applications from 26 communities, totaling $22 million in requested assistance. The Fund has approved 67 of the loan applications thus far as it continues to process the requests.

“As Israel has received both emergency and ongoing aid from Jews in North America and worldwide for many years, this crisis represented Israel’s golden opportunity to support overseas Jewish communities,” Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog said. “This has always been the essence of The Jewish Agency, to serve as a global platform for addressing international crises and galvanizing collective action. At the same time, the COVID-19 Loan Fund for Communities in Crisis represents an unprecedented step for our organization on behalf of the global Jewish people.”

The aid includes immediate working capital loans of up to $350,000 to each community or organization, with all recipients located outside North America. Communities receiving the loans have ranged from the large centers of Jewish life in Belgium, France, Italy, South Africa, Spain, and Ukraine to smaller Jewish communities in Austria, Costa Rica, Greece, and Paraguay.

The COVID-19 crisis has severely impacted communal life throughout the Jewish world, bringing significant economic distress to many communities who are now on the verge of collapse — including those that were previously financially stable. Many communities are now challenged to finance basic communal services. Educational activities have been discontinued, and essential welfare services are in danger of being closed.

“No international organization has done more for the South African Jewish Community over the past 20 years than The Jewish Agency for Israel. In a crisis they are the first people we call and COVID-19 was no different,” said Avrom Krengel, Honorary President of the South Africa Zionist Federation. “The Jewish Agency responded to every request we made and have helped South African Jewry survive this terrible epidemic and economic catastrophe. We can’t thank them enough.”