Local crypto collective Crypto Aid Israel has already collected donations of about NIS 700,000 (over $185,000) to support Israelis affected by the Hamas terror wave.
Some of these have also already been distributed in two rounds to various organizations on the front lines of relief for the people affected by the tragedy.
A total of 200,000 NIS have already been distributed, aiming to make a tangible impact on the lives of those in need.
The activities funded by Crypto Aid Israel
Several NGOs have already received this funding from Crypto Aid Israel.
The Foundation for the Advancement of Citizens of the Eshkol Regional Council-an organization that supports the well-being and resilience of Israel’s southern communities-has received funding to support the transportation and housing needs of citizens who reside in areas near Gaza but are not officially recognized as such by the Israeli government.
Zaka – an Israeli volunteer NGO specializing in search, rescue and disaster response and emergency medical services – received funding to secure critical medical equipment and ceramic vests for volunteers working on the front lines.
Lev Echad of Or Hanegev veHagalil – an NGO committed to supporting at-risk youth and promoting social inclusion in Israel through educational and empowerment programs – received it to provide basic necessities for people who have chosen to remain in the regions adjacent to Gaza to protect and support the municipalities and Kibbutzim by giving them food, hygiene products and clothing.
Latet – an Israeli non-profit organization dedicated to fighting poverty and providing humanitarian aid to disadvantaged communities, with a focus on food security and social assistance-received them to launch a large-scale operation in the south of the country to provide food boxes and hygiene products to citizens in urgent need and with limited access to food and other resources, such as those still in the south of the country, those who have been evacuated to other locations, needy families, the elderly, Holocaust survivors and reservists working in the field.
The expansion of the Crypto Aid Israel initiative
In addition, more than 30 companies have mobilized to support this cause, with accounting giant KPMG also participating to assist with fundraising and distribution.
Other major companies that are contributing to the campaign are crypto wallet provider Zengo, Fuse, Wonderland, Psagot Equity and others.
Crypto Aid Israel is an emergency humanitarian initiative led by influential leaders within the Israeli Web3 community. It includes organizations such as 42Studio, MarketAcross, Collider Ventures, CryptoJungle, Nilos, BlockchainB7, Efficient Frontier, Ironblocks, Israel Blockchain Association, Bits Of Gold and KPMG.
The goal of the fundraising campaign is to offer support to Israeli citizens and families in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Crypto Aid Israel expressed gratitude to the global crypto community for the unwavering support it is receiving.
The attacks
As is often the case in such cases, Crypto Aid Israel is also receiving several attacks.
In particular, the initiative has been the target of serious phishing attacks, partly because unfortunately those funds are coveted by many.
There was also a brief outage of the initiative’s website service, but it lasted less than 30 minutes. The outage was promptly addressed and resolved by the hosting provider, prompted by concerns about potential fraudulent activity masquerading as Crypto Aid Israel.
In addition to theft attempts, and boycott attempts, attacks with a clear terrorist motive must also be factored in, given the ongoing war.
The comments
Crypto Aid Israel senior leader Tim Freed said:
“We are deeply humbled by the outpouring of support from the global crypto community. Together, we have made significant strides in our mission to assist those affected by the recent wave of Hamas terrorism. The completion of two rounds of aid distribution shows how crypto can be used as a force of good in the world. Our commitment to transparency and legitimacy remains unwavering, and we are determined to continue our efforts in providing aid and relief to those in need.”
Crypto and New Digital Initiatives consultant on Latet’s board, Eyal Gura, added:
“We believe that while modest initially, the crypto channel is an important, speedy and innovative one and will enable new contributors to join our global ecosystem and support Israel in such an important hour. Once we realized the scale of the disaster and have realized it’s Israel’s most challenging times, Latet started to work in an emergency mode.
As we did in the past, in over 25 national disasters globally and locally, we allocated the entire organization infrastructure to enable immediate aid to the families in need and will continue to execute as long as it will take.”
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2023/10/20/crypto-aid-israel-donates-185000/