Do Jewish organizations have a responsibility to come to the aid of civilians in Gaza? That question ignited intense debate within the Jewish community earlier this month when the UJA-Federation of New York announced it would donate $1 million to IsraAID, an Israeli humanitarian group, to help supply food, water, and medicine to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The head of the UJA, Eric Goldstein, announced the organization’s seven-figure gift in a letter to the community that invoked the “Jewish imperative” to come to the aid of Palestinian civilians.

“Understanding that Hamas bears ultimate responsibility for this conflict does not negate that civilians in Gaza are facing desperate conditions,” Mr. Golstein wrote. “We must hold tight to what has always anchored the Jewish people: the belief that all human life is sacred.”

The announcement sparked fierce opposition from prominent Jewish leaders and commentators who argued the donation represented a dangerous departure from the UJA’s core mission, which is listed as caring “for Jews everywhere and New Yorkers of all backgrounds” and responding “to crises close to home and far away.”

In an op-ed titled, “The futility of compassion for those who want to kill you,” the editor in chief of the Jewish News Syndicate, Jonathan Tobin, predicted that the UJA’s efforts would likely be misinterpreted by the public as tacit acknowledgement that Israel is doing something wrong and that American Jews have a reason to feel guilty. He suggested that Jewish funds should be “exclusively directed toward” Israeli causes until the war is over. 

Others, like the chairman of Betar Worldwide, Ronn Torossian, denounced the UJA for supporting “the very people who cheered the October 7 massacre and a land where the people elected, support — and are — Hamas.” Mr. Torossian, in a scathing op-ed in Israel National News, accused UJA’s leaders of being “self-hating Jews.”

The chorus of criticism continued on social media. One political commentator, Pamela Geller, called the donation “sick, pathetic, disgraceful,” while Tablet Magazine’s editor-at-large, Liel Leibovitz, offered sarcastic praise for the organization’s “great moral clarity.” An Orthodox Jewish reporter, Kassy Akiva, dismissed the UJA as “a joke.”

In light of the backlash, the UJA elaborated on its decision, offering a rationale that extended beyond Mr. Goldstein’s writings about Jewish values: “This is completely aligned with Israel’s strategy,” a spokeswoman for the UJA told The New York Sun.

The UJA argues that IsraAID’s work to provide aid directly to Palestinian civilians — and keeping it out of the hands of Hamas — helps to counter “the false narrative that Israel is deliberately starving the population” and reduces “the humanitarian vacuum that Hamas exploits to recruit and radicalize.” 

The organization maintains that “providing humanitarian aid in a responsible way is not a side project; it’s part of Israel’s military and diplomatic strategy to sustain essential international support while denying Hamas control of aid flows.” 

The donation comes as reports of starvation and jarring images of emaciated children in Gaza — some of which we now know depict individuals who suffer from pre-existing health conditions — have placed pressure on Israel to expand the volume of aid allowed into the Strip. At the end of July, Israel agreed to implement a one-sided cease-fire during the daytime to allow for additional aid deliveries. 

Mr. Netanyahu has acknowledged that the Palestinians have experienced “deprivation,” though he maintains that Hamas, not Israel, bears responsibility for civilian suffering. “There is suffering because Hamas is interdicting aid,” the prime minister explained during a recent Fox News interview. “I don’t deny that there’s suffering. I want to end the suffering. And I want to end it by ending Hamas rule.”

IsraAID, Israel’s largest nongovernmental humanitarian aid organization, has only recently opened up about its work in Gaza. The group initially functioned as a liaison between Israeli officials and international aid organizations, helping coordinate deliveries while ensuring supplies didn’t fall into Hamas hands. In recent months, IsraAID has expanded beyond coordination to work directly with IDF-vetted local partners for aid distribution.

The president of IsraAID, Yotam Polizer, has largely avoided wading into politics or international diplomacy and defines his approach to the situation as one of “extreme pragmatism.” Mr. Politzer argues that being “pro-Israel” does not conflict with providing aid to Palestinian civilians. 

Still, though, he recognizes that IsraAID tows a difficult line working both in Israel and in Gaza. Before his group began its work in the Strip, Mr. Polizer made sure to inform Israeli communities on the border — which bore the brunt of Hamas’s October 7 massacre — of his plans. 

“Before starting, we spoke one-on-one with every community. We received no negative responses — people greatly appreciated it,” Mr. Polizer told the Times of Israel. “I think they understand this isn’t an attempt to do anything that harms the security of the State of Israel — on the contrary.”