Israeli Children’s Fund Raising $100 Million for Children Who Lost Parents on Oct. 7

On October 7, as Hamas massacred an estimated 1,400 people, many children were suddenly left orphaned – and traumatized – for the rest of their lives. Now, a group of 34 high-tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from Israel have launched the Israeli Children’s Fund to support these orphans. They currently have a goal of fundraising $100 million to offer immediate and long-term financial assistance for these children.

“We understood that the trauma from this event would leave long lasting scars, especially for those who witnessed the brutality firsthand against their family and community.” – Maya Orlicky

“We understood that the trauma from this event would leave long lasting scars, especially for those who witnessed the brutality firsthand against their family and community,” co-founder of ICF Maya Orlicky, of the company Revolut, said. “As tech leaders and entrepreneurs within Israel, our job is to find solutions to problems that have yet to be revealed, and we came to understand that the attacks, unprecedented in their scale and brutality, have the added risk of overwhelming psychological care networks, in addition to financial resources, as the care infrastructure inside the country is not built to support a large influx of victims of such atrocities.”

Orlicky and the rest of the group spoke in the aftermath of the attacks and realized they needed to establish a support infrastructure for the victims. There is no final number on the number of children who lost one or both parents, but in general, thousands of Israeli children were affected by the attacks, according to Orlicky.

The ICF volunteer team consists of leaders from Wiz, Verbit, Ottopia, Herzog, Jibe and Pitango, and the entrepreneurs are in Israel as well as abroad. To raise funds for their program, they are tapping into their extensive networks.

“This initiative started as many of us were flooded with inbound requests from friends and colleagues abroad and within our networks, asking how and where they can contribute,” said Orlicky. “We are generating support and raising money from personal donations, tech communities globally, our own companies and VCs and nonprofit organizations.”

Right now, ICF is providing immediate funds to the legal guardians who have taken in orphaned children and are making sure their needs are met. Under typical circumstances, registering individuals into the national social support network in Israel can take one to two years. 

The money is helping legal guardians purchase essentials and provide childcare and homeschooling. ICF is also collaborating with local agencies and leading foundations to support the children’s emotional and psychological needs. 

“In the long term, we are establishing an endowment to fund critical life milestones, such as bar mitzvahs and graduations to fill in financial gaps that social services will provide, launching a long-term mentorship program that is run and supported by top leaders within Israeli tech to provide long term employment opportunities and establishing a dedicated trauma center, run by a team of internationally recognized professionals,” said Orlicky. “Our goal is to reshape the future of the Israeli children who suffered major trauma through the loss of a parent to the Hamas terror attack, or whose parents are currently being held hostage, helping them to heal the wounds of the past and setting them up to grow and fulfill their full potential.”

Amit Rosenzweig, CEO of Ottopia and a key figure of the fund, echoed a similar sentiment.

“The aftermath of the horrific reality of the attacks has left many people working tirelessly to relocate and provide assistance to those who suffered from the most widespread severely traumatic event in our country’s history,” he said. “These children represent our collective future, and we are committed to doing everything in our power, not just today, but throughout their lives to help them overcome this loss and thrive.”