The Misgav Regional Council, part of Pittsburgh’s Partnership2Gether “sister city” region, is a vast area that spreads from the Lower to the Upper Galilee in northern Israel. Villages in Misgav located in the Lower Galilee have 60 seconds to make it to the bomb shelter when rockets are fired, but villages in Misgav located in the Upper Galilee only have 30 seconds to make it to the bomb shelter. Schoolchildren do not have nearly enough time to make it to the bomb shelter in time as they get stuck in a bottleneck trying to leave their classrooms all at once.

At the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, we believe no parent should have to make the impossible choice between safety and education. Everyone deserves to feel included, supported and inspired, and quality education forms a vital part of that feeling.

Our Federation learned of the critical gap and decided that we need to do what we can to make sure that children in Misgav stay as safe as possible. With our support, the Misgav Regional Council was able to place concrete structures throughout schools and sports fields in Misgav as well as sandbags in exposed windows to prevent shock waves in case of rocket fire. They did this all despite the topographical challenges (needing to clear pathways for cranes to bring in the concrete structures).

Kim Salzman, the Federation’s Director of Israel and Overseas Operations, visited with Ahmed, the Vice Mayor of Misgav Regional Council, to learn more about the challenges Misgav faces in light of the war and to see our Federation's impact on the ground. Ahmed is a Bedouin-Muslim-Israel serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He shared with us that nearly all the men in his village in Misgav are now serving in the IDF, and many of them were in the south on Oct. 7. They were traumatized by the terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 just like everyone in Israel.

Kim met with teachers and principals who told us that before the concrete structures were added to their schools, only 30% of their students attended school due to their parents' fear for their safety. Now, as a result of these concrete structures and sandbags, 90% of their students have returned to school and to a healthy routine.

Thanks to your support, parents can feel safe and educate their children—as everyone deserves. It’s just a small part of a vast Jewish Federation effort across the U.S. and Canada to support the families of Israelis killed and injured, the hundreds of thousands forced to evacuate and the millions experiencing the trauma of this terrorist attack.