{"id":80454,"date":"2024-04-12T16:47:19","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T21:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=80454"},"modified":"2024-04-13T16:03:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T21:03:11","slug":"theater-charity-broadway-cares-donates-to-israeli-groups-after-criticism-over-gaza-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/theater-charity-broadway-cares-donates-to-israeli-groups-after-criticism-over-gaza-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"Theater charity Broadway Cares donates to Israeli groups after criticism over Gaza aid"},"content":{"rendered":"

By LUKE TRESS<\/p>\n

(New York Jewish Week<\/em> via JTA) \u2014 The theater charity group Broadway Cares donated $400,000 to four Israeli aid organizations after coming under fire for its contributions to Gaza relief.<\/p>\n

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The critics \u2014 the conservative Zionist Organization of America and a New York rabbi, Erica Gerson \u2014 said the donations were outside the scope of Broadway Cares\u2019 central mission of fighting AIDS and funding health care, that the group did not properly disclose the contributions, and that donations to Gaza were compromised by Hamas\u2019 control of the territory.<\/p>\n

In response, in addition to pledging aid to Israelis, Broadway Cares acknowledged that it had \u201ccreated confusion among our valued supporters\u201d and said it would update its communications with theater audiences.<\/p>\n

The group said in an announcement last month that it was donating $100,000 each to NATAL, a trauma care group; the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the leading organization, formed by relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, advocating for their release; the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, an umbrella group; and ERAN, a mental health hotline. The groups are all apolitical and based in Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese organizations are doing critical work supporting civilians in Israel suffering from trauma, both mentally and physically,\u201d Tom Viola, the head of Broadway Cares\/Equity Fights AIDS, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn conjunction with our recent grants helping civilians facing devastation and inconceivable loss in Gaza, we\u2019re proud to offer humanitarian aid that doesn\u2019t follow a political agenda, but rather provides vital resources and support to innocent civilians in the midst of devastating conflict,\u201d Viola said.<\/p>\n

Broadway Cares is the flagship charity of the theater world, and is often introduced at Broadway shows following the curtain call, when stars will appeal to their audiences to make a donation into a trademark red bucket as they exit the theater. Those fundraising pitches, which happen in the spring and fall, typically focus on the organization\u2019s core mission: funding HIV\/AIDS treatment as well as health care for underemployed actors. But the group has sent contributions to international relief efforts in the past.<\/p>\n

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