When Ordinary People Become Israel’s Shield
At the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, I’ve interviewed countless leaders and innovators. But every so often, someone sits down across from you whose story hits differently — raw, unfiltered, and deeply human.
That was my conversation with Dr. Adi Vaxman, founder of Operation Israel, a grassroots volunteer organization that has already saved lives on the front lines.
What began with a moment of helplessness on October 7 became one of the most effective volunteer operations protecting IDF soldiers today.
“It was the first moment in my life that I felt actually helpless.”
On the morning of October 7, Adi and her family were in their New Jersey living room watching the unfolding massacre.
“We came across the first video of the white pickup truck filled with terrorists in the streets of Sderot,” she said. “And it was the first moment in my life that I felt actually helpless.”
A few hours later, everything changed.
A friend called. His son — a lone soldier in Givati — reported massive shortages.
“Ceramic vests, helmets, basic gear,” Adi recalled. “I asked myself, where do I buy ceramic vests that are approved by the IDF?”
She called former Ministry of Defense procurement contacts, waited until 2 a.m., and then did something extraordinary:
“I bought their entire inventory on my personal and company credit cards. It was $162,000. This is how the organization started.”
A Facebook Notification That Made No Sense
Then came what Adi calls “a little bit of divine intervention.”
That same day, she received a random Facebook alert from a group she barely used — a stranger named Roy asking:
“Who wants to collaborate on the purchase of ceramic vests?”
“I thought it was weird,” she admitted. “As a tech person, the algorithm shouldn’t have shown me that.”
She gave him her number. He called immediately.
“We’ve been very close ever since,” she said. Roy became her partner.
Minutes later, another message came — this time from a doctor in her town named Isabella.
“She said, ‘I know you’re doing something. I want in. Put me to work.’”
And she did.
From Zero to $5 Million in One Month
The momentum was staggering.
“Very quickly, in the first month, we raised nearly $5 million,” Adi said. “We sent hundreds and hundreds of duffel bags, cargo, planes, shipments… all kinds of gear.”
Since then:
- $11 million raised
- Over 100,000 items shipped
- More than 90,000 soldiers helped
All by volunteers. No salaries. No bureaucracy.
“We are fully volunteer,” Adi emphasized. “We all have other careers. We’re going to continue to be grassroots.”
“A mother losing a child because of an $800 vest is inconceivable to me.”
Every item they ship is personal to Adi.
Her stepdaughter was serving on the Zikim base on October 7.
“We couldn’t find her until three in the morning,” she said. “She finally called and said, ‘Abba, all of my friends are dead.’ She had switched shifts. The girl who took her post was one of the first to be murdered.”
Her brother, a tank commander, went back to fight immediately.
“He’s been fighting for months and months. I didn’t know if he was alive or dead.”
Her voice broke when she said:
“Thinking that a mother is losing a child because of a piece of gear that costs $800 or $1,200… it’s inconceivable to me.”
That’s why she refuses to stop.
“You saved my eyes.”
At a recent conference, Adi and Isabella were approached by a soldier.
“He walked up to us and said, ‘Hey, you guys provided me gear — you saved my eyes.’”
Ballistic glasses they supplied had stopped shrapnel.
But then he said something that rattled them even more:
“When I got the package, you gave us letters from children. That really made us feel so much better.”
Isabella immediately said, “We need a teacher to create more cards.”
And in a moment that feels scripted, a woman walked by and said:
“Hey, I’m a teacher for three schools in Manhattan.”
Within a week, she delivered a massive box of handwritten cards.
“It went on a plane to Israel,” Adi said. “It’s been distributed to soldiers. This was all in the last two weeks.”
“People think the war is over. Funding has been ridiculously difficult.”
The ceasefire chatter has led many to believe the urgency has passed. It hasn’t.
“There are 900 smuggling drones coming over the border from Egypt every month,” Adi explained. “The soldiers are still fighting in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria.”
And the psychological toll is staggering:
“Since the beginning of the war, 64 soldiers took their own lives. That number is inconceivable to me.”
Operation Israel now runs trauma-processing workshops, understanding that coming home is its own kind of battle.
“Some of them are coming home — but not really coming home,” she said.
“We need every person to help us.”
Operation Israel is desperate for exposure.
“We need help,” Adi told me bluntly. “We need every person to help share the message, organize fundraisers, organize events.”
Funding is drying up.
“But the soldiers still need our help,” she said. “They’re traumatized. And the security reality of Israel is not going to change.”
The mission continues — with or without headlines.
How to Help
- Visit OperationIsrael.org
- Organize a fundraiser or speaking event
- Share their story
- Support their technology and trauma programs
Operation Israel began with one sleepless night, one phone call, one credit card — and the unshakeable belief that Jewish lives are worth protecting at any cost.
As Adi said so powerfully:
“The IDF is defending Western civilization. It is our duty to help them so our children can walk free wearing their Jewish stars — as jewelry, not as a yellow star on their sleeve.”
Am Yisrael Chai is not a slogan.
It’s a responsibility.
