Over £1.7 million was raised in a single night by British Jewry to support wounded veterans in Israel.
Some 530 supporters of Beit Halochem, including Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, as well as Jewish communal and business leaders, attended the charity’s annual fundraising dinner in central London on Monday.
Since October 7, Beit Halochem, which translates as “House of warriors” and is the only government-recognised charity in Israel serving wounded IDF veterans, has seen a significant increase in the demand on its services, bringing with it a greater need for funding.
The number of Beit Halochem members has grown from 51,000 before Hamas’ brutal invasion of southern Israel to nearly 65,000 today, and the charity’s annual budget has risen from $25.6 million to almost $34 million.
Guests on Monday evening were shown a video exhibiting Beit Halochem’s four centres in Israel and the holistic approach to care that they provide, blending rehabilitative services, treatments, educational programmes, with a range of creative and social activities.
The four centres, in Jerusalem, Haifa, Be’er Sheva, and Tel Aviv, provide wounded veterans in Israel more than 355,000 fitness training sessions, 85,000 physiotherapy treatments, and 55,000 hydrotherapy treatments a year.
A fifth Beit Halochem facility, in Ashdod, will become the country’s national PTSD hub when it finishes construction in December this year and opens in February 2026. There are currently some 9,000 recently injured veterans accessing specialist PTSD support through Beit Halochem.
Two wounded veterans and Beit Halochem members, Omri Rozenblit and Eden Ram, spoke movingly onstage at the dinner about their experiences of being injured and the help they received from Beit Halochem.