Seagal: Ninja Mom

Meet Seagal.

A mother of four. A roving warehouse-on-wheels who ensures that countless soldiers have the life saving equipment they need before going into battle. A woman who has found her place, her people, and most importantly her purpose after the attacks of October 7th and Operation Swords of Iron. The woman who became known as the Ninja Mom.  

Seagal moved to Israel from the California on October 7th, 2020. She moved to Israel with three children following a pregnancy loss and eventually added another baby to the family upon her arrival to Israel. “I always had a dream to make Aliyah. I was an older mom at that point. I was 45 years old at the time; I had started my paperwork and then got pregnant. I had a baby at Tel HaShomer hospital in March of 2021.”

The transition to Israeli life wasn’t easy, as new immigrants to Israel know all too well. Seagal worked on transitioning her kids into their new lives. “Up until October 7th (2023) I really thought that I would surrender and return to America.”

Seagal and her family awoke early on October 7th and went to synagogue to celebrate Simchat Torah. They were hosting a celebratory Kiddush for their three-year Aliyah anniversary. “There were no sirens in Netanya on October 7th. We later came to find that we were the only synagogue that wasn’t shut down. The city didn’t really know about is because we were in a local high school.” For Seagal and her community, life was still normal, in a bubble of ignorant bliss for a few more hours, until the holiday and sabbath came to a close.

The next morning Seagal fought through hundreds of people to donate blood, despite a deadly fear of needles.

The days that followed were a bit of a blur. “Sometimes I’ll look back at photos and I wonder what the first thing that happened was. I just remember taking to Facebook Live and being very transparent and sharing. I remember the first call and the first connection.”

“By the second week of October there was a request for 50 pairs of boots. Within a short amount of time I was able to connect the funds, get the boots, deliver them with two of my children and go home. I got a phone call from a woman saying that 90 pairs of boots were accidentally offloaded and 40 remained unpaid for so they would be reclaimed. I told her that she would do no such thing, these are for our brave Chayalim (soldiers), and they deserve these shoes. I told her I would find the money for the remaining 40 pairs of boots. Within 30 minutes I had collected the money and made the transaction, all while sitting on the floor, surrounded by my kids and their commotion.”

There was no structure to the operation she started. Requests flooded in, and there was never any time to build a formal process around the fundraising and procurement that she was involved in. “Besides, this is Israel. Nobody cares about a structure and schedule, so long as things get done.”

One thing led to another. Seagal began fundraising and filtering requests for gear and equipment from the earliest days of the war. She raised money primarily from American donors using Venmo. In time she became affiliated with a 501c3, IDF Orphans in Israel, who was able to collect the money on her behalf and pay invoices to the vendors that she was committed to.  She has since changed affiliations and is now with the Ari Fuld Project as well as Smiles for the Kids. Both are non-profit organizations and all donations made are tax deductible in Israel and in the United States.

“I am very big on supporting local. I have two affiliations, and they provide everything from vest plates, helmets, boots, knee pads, all the way to solar panels, generators, etc. There’s nothing that I haven’t put in my car. I’m my own driver; I do my own deliveries.”

Seagal tried to create a warehouse of supplies that everyone might need – shampoos, towels, etc., but it didn’t take off as well as her work in procuring military equipment did. “The gear was such a critical piece. They were finding me, my number was getting out there, and I wasn’t saying no.”

Did Seagal have a background in fundraising? In procurement? In distribution and logistics? No. She was a schoolteacher, originally from New York City, her second career after working in hospital administration.

“I didn’t really think in my entire life that I could have created this and navigated logistics. It’s insane to pull these things off. I know that I’m doing it alone – but I’m not. I feel like G-d has been guiding me and protecting me on this mission. I joke that I have a cloud on my car, my own little dome of protection.” Since the time that Seagal arrived in Israel to about a year into the war, she had not experienced the air raid sirens that Israelis have become all too comfortable hearing.

“There’s something that has happened to me since the 7th of October that has been transformational in finding my way and my purpose and finding family. The entire country has become family, an open door, its just an incredible thing.”

Now there is no turning back.

Each and every week Seagal manages to raise tens of thousands of dollars. She has purchased fireproof uniforms, protective plates, boots, helmets, scopes, straps, weapons stabilizers, Tefillin, and more. Money comes from both one-time donors and repeat offenders. She regularly puts out calls on Facebook and Instagram for what is needed, and inevitably people ensure that our brave soldiers do not lack for equipment. Other equipment, such as iPads, winter hats, and more are donated, and Seagal distributes them as needed  to those who need them.

Seagal has fallen in love with the Otef (Gaza Envelope) communities so much so that she now regards them as family and is involved in the rebuilding of schools that have been under attack.

Seagal is a testament to the positive difference that one person can make. “I’m not doing anything special. I don’t think I’m being creative or anything, but I am being transparent. I think people connect with authenticity, and I am authentic. People know where their money is going. I am helping them feel directly involved in the war effort.”

She regularly has donors who offer fund-matching. “I have people adopt a soldier, or communities adopt a unit. I’ve had a women’s book club in Wayne, NJ, want to help but didn’t know how, so I offered them a menu of options so they could find something that resonated with them. I’ve had women who had lost their fathers in the Yom Kippur War who are now sending their children to fight with inadequate care, and are relying on me to provide it.”

It is safe to say that Seagal has facilitated a community that spans oceans that is devoted to ensuring the safety of their own, creating a feeling of a global family.

Bar and Bat Mitzvah projects from around the world have been facilitated through Seagal’s work. Gift bags have been assembled in the United States and imported to Israel to be distributed to soldiers.

She regularly takes donors on ‘unguided tours’ of Israel’s south, giving them behind the scenes access to the work she has been doing. She has organized ‘self care’ days for members of Southern communities and soldiers, with ice baths, massages, chiropractic care, and more, including lunch catered by Shuva.

What began as a woman sitting on her floor with a purple notebook surrounded by her kids, continues in that very bootstrapped fashion. She estimates that she has raised between half a million and one million dollars. The money immediately gets spent on necessary gear for the brave soldiers. She never says no to a request when the soldiers are in need of our help.

Perhaps most important to Seagal is what she has been modeling to her children who have been with her at every step of this journey. “My kids are incredible. While I suffer from a little bit of guilt for having taken them from their comfortable childhoods in America and bringing them here, they continue to thrive.

They always ask when they get to go south again. When they play, they pretend to be fielding equipment orders. My 13-year-old sews, and she has been sewing velcro onto elastic using an industrial machine.

My 11-year-old would help at Shuva junction to take care of the soldiers. My 8-year-old is a future politician, she could sell you anything. She will go wherever food preparation is needed and chop vegetables. They’re fearless warriors. They are living in purpose here.”

Tikun Olam is the foundation of her parenting principles. She strives to teach her children the importance of contributing to make the world around them a better place.

Soldiers know Seagal is approaching before she even steps out of her car. “I pull up with my flag on my car, crack open the trunk and they know.”

The time that following October 7th changed the fabric of one’s very being. It profoundly changed how Seagal approached some of her closest interpersonal relationships. “It made me realize that life is too short to hold onto things. People might not ask for forgiveness or apologize, but that’s their thing. But I can lead with empathy and forgiveness.”

For everything she has done, for the money she has raised, the supplies she has purchased, Seagal recognizes the enormity of her undertaking. “It’s a lot for one person. I’m feeling it now.”

Perhaps most profound is the interactions Seagal has had with soldiers who are recovering from their injuries and their strength of spirit. “There was a soldier who lost both legs and one arm. Instead of focusing on what he lost, he chose to see what he had. He could learn to write with his remaining arm, he still had his mind. He still had more in him to give. He knew his purpose and what he was fighting for.”

There’s a difference between having a job and having purpose. Seagal has found her purpose now.

She wakes up every day in gratitude now. “I never thought in a million years that that would happen to me. I especially never expected it to come from a war.”

“What I got back was tenfold. What they’re getting – it’s not about the object, it’s not about what they’re receiving. What they are really getting is the feeling of being cared for, of being seen and heard. What I had been missing since coming to Israel has been found in the work that I’ve been doing since the war began. I think it saved my life, for sure.”

Life in Israel has not been easy, but it is rewarding. To experience the way that people have come together to support one another through the most trying times has been transformative. To be able to experience the pride of being Jewish, the pride in being Israeli has changed the fabric of Seagal and her family.

After everything that has transpired, Seagal is firmly rooted in Israel now. She no longer considers moving back to America as an option. Her children echo her sentiment, and when asked if they would return to their American lives if given the chance, they say no. “They see themselves differently now, this experience has made them better people.” The family is here to stay.

And her work is never ending. She continues to fundraise and distribute gear.

Should you wish to contribute to her life-saving and life-changing work, please visit www.arifuld.org/kadima-concierge/ (Israel) or givebutter.com/Kadima-concierge (USA)