If a Jewish teenager from Seattle arrives in Israel this Fall with a strong sense of who they are and why it matters, the chances are good that the Samis Foundation played a role in getting them there.
For thirty years, Washington State’s largest Jewish philanthropic organization has invested more than $140 million in building that connection. From Jewish day schools to overnight camps to youth groups and teen Israel trips, Samis funds the experiences that shape how young Jews in the Pacific Northwest understand and connect to their Jewish identity and helps make those experiences financially accessible to the families who want them.
Many may also be surprised to know that Samis’ reach extends beyond Washington, funding a wide range of initiatives in Israel that reflect the priorities and values of Sam Israel, and the foundation’s deep connection to the country. To date, Samis has invested over $17 million in Israel supporting initiatives related to Aliyah and absorption, higher education and vocational training, poverty and social mobility, widows and orphans, archaeology, and wildlife preservation. In June the Samis Board approved a new round of grants to Israel totaling more than $1 million. The investments are addressing something that rarely receives sustained philanthropic attention: the long-term emotional resilience of Israeli society. In the aftermath of 10/7 and the ongoing conflict in the region, the grants fund organizations building the support infrastructure Israel will need for years to come, expanding mental health capacity in underserved communities, supporting caregivers, and helping employers sustain staff who are navigating trauma and extraordinary prolonged pressure. The goal is not only to respond to current needs, but to address trauma before it develops into PTSD and ultimately build a society with the capacity to care for its people across generations.
“Most Israelis affected by the events of October 7 and its aftermath are not yet experiencing clinical PTSD. They are still living through active, ongoing trauma”, says Ariel Lapson, Samis Foundation’s Senior Program Officer and Director of Grants Management. “These grants fund a holistic set of new and experimental interventions that reach people at that acute stage, before trauma becomes something much harder to treat. Our new resilience-focused grants are the latest expression by the Foundation of a commitment to Israel that has never wavered.”
This investment in Israel is part of a much larger philanthropic mission. The Samis Foundation was established in 1994 to fulfill the vision of Samuel Israel, a Sephardic Jew born in 1899 on the island of Rhodes. He came to Seattle as a young man, built a successful real estate business, and left his entire estate to the foundation he created. He was a man of strong opinion, deeply devoted to the Jewish people, to nature, and to the belief that we are each responsible for one another. In a city that would become one of North America’s most significant centers of Sephardic Jewish life, the legacy he left behind continues to shape the community in ways he could only have imagined. The foundation carries that conviction forward, guided by a refreshed Strategic Plan for Philanthropy that sets the course of Samis’ work through 2030.
At the center of the Foundation’s work is Jewish day school education. 70% of Samis’s annual grantmaking goes directly to Jewish day schools in Washington State, a commitment that amounts to roughly $6 million each year. The majority of that, approximately $5 million, funds affordability, ensuring that families across the economic spectrum can access a Jewish day school education. The remainder supports special initiatives including inter-school collaboration, professional development, special needs education, and school-based Israel trips.
“Sam Israel put Jewish day school education at the top of the list when he founded this organization,” says Elana Zana, Samis Day School Sub-committee Chair. “That priority remains the cornerstone of the foundation’s work.”
Support for Washington State’s three Jewish overnight camps – Camp Solomon Schetcher, Sephardic Adventure Camp and URJ Camp Kalsman – teen Israel experiences, and youth enrichment and engagement programs is also a core part of Samis’ mission. Jewish education, as Samis understands it, does not begin and end in the classroom. It lives in the bonds formed around a campfire, in the moment a teenager stands for the first time at the Kotel in Jerusalem, and in the confidence of a Jewish educator who has been given the tools to bring Jewish history and identity to life for their students. The foundation invests in all of it. Noteworthy investments supporting experiential education in recent years include camp capital grants totaling nearly $2 million for URJ Camp Kalsman and Camp Solomon Schechter, as well as a new pilot grant initiative launching in the Fall of 2026, with support from the Nitzan Foundation, to make participating in experiential educator professional development opportunities more accessible and affordable.
“What inspires me about Samis’s work is the range of how we reach young people,” says Judy Neuman, who became Samis Foundation’s board chair in March 2026. “Whether it is a child in a day school classroom, a camp counselor at overnight camp, a teen exploring Israel for the first time, or a Jewish educator deepening their own practice, we are creating meaningful Jewish experiences at every stage of a young person’s life. Our commitment to Israel, especially at this moment in history, is also part of that same larger purpose.”
Sam Israel built his fortune in Seattle and gave it entirely to the Jewish future. The foundation that bears his legacy continues that work in classrooms, at campsites, and across Israel.
The Samis Foundation is Washington State’s largest Jewish philanthropic organization, founded in 1994 to fulfill the charitable mission and vision of Samuel Israel. To learn more visit samisfoundation.org.
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