Images of exhausted, scared, and anxious elderly people, women, and children lined up for hours waiting to cross the Ukraine-Poland border are startling. Over two million refugees have left their homeland for safety from Russian attacks. Included in those millions are thousands of Jews who, like many, escaped with a suitcase and not much else. What reassures me is that Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) welcomed these Jewish refugees with food, clothing, and warm shelter once they crossed the border. JAFI and JDC’s work inside Ukraine also continue where possible amidst the fighting.

If an emergency breaks out anywhere in the world touching a Jewish population, other communities will come together and do what they can to help. That is an amazing fact, and it’s a core value in Federations across North America, including here in Edmonton. Over the last two weeks, we have seen how you have stepped up to support strangers across an ocean away.

When we first launched the Ukraine Crisis relief fund, we did not know what to expect from the Edmonton Jewish community in response. One of the greatest pleasures for me is connecting donors with the causes that are meaningful to them and the opportunity to carry out a considerable impact on their gifts. Thank you to all who have so generously contributed to our fund so far.

To date, we are sending $141,000 to the benefit of JAFI and the JDC. We will continue to collect and send funds for the unforeseen future. While the situation that our fellow Jews in Ukraine are facing is horrifying, the knowledge that our community has been showing up to support the efforts to provide humanitarian aid, bring people across borders to safety, and to make Aliyah has been most gratifying. Through our partners abroad, we are saving lives.

Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky recently said this at a gathering in Israel: “When I was growing up in Ukraine, in Donetsk, there were many nations and nationalities. There were those with identity papers that read ‘Russian,’ ‘Ukrainian,’ ‘Georgian,’ or ‘Kozak.’

This was not so important since there was not much difference between them. The single designation that stood out was ‘Jew.’ If that was written as your identity, it was as if you had a disease. “We knew nothing about Judaism. There was nothing significant to our Jewish identity other than the antisemitism, hatred, and discriminatory treatment we experienced because of it.

For a university application, for example, no one tried to change his designation from ‘Russian’ to ‘Ukrainian’ because it did not matter. However, if you could change your designation of ‘Jew,’ it substantially improved your chances of university admission. “This week, it reminded me of those days when I saw thousands of people standing at the borders of Ukraine trying to escape. They are standing there day and night and there is only one word that can help them get out: ‘‘Jew.’

If you are a Jew, there are Jews outside who care about and are waiting for you. There is someone on the other side of the border who is searching for you. Your chances of leaving are excellent. 

“The world has changed. When I was a child, ‘Jew’ was an unfortunate designation. No one envied us. But today on the Ukrainian border, identifying as a Jew is a most fortunate circumstance. It describes those who have a place to go, where their family, an entire nation, is waiting for them on the other side.”

For the latest information on the emergency response activities of JDC and the Jewish Agency, read March 10’s Ukraine Crisis update.

In honour of the Fast of Esther, join the Jewish Federation of North America’s National Women’s Philanthropy for a “Women Warriors” briefing on the crisis in Ukraine Tuesday, March 15 at 3 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m. MT. Meet incredible women from the front lines and hear why and how this crisis is affecting women and children. We’ll receive live updates from JDC, JAFI, United Hatzalah and Project Kesher, a Jewish women’s leadership nonprofit. This organization is meeting the needs of women and girls in Ukraine as they face the current crisis and its fallout.

While others are fighting for their lives, we are thankful that we can celebrate the upcoming celebration of Purim in Edmonton with no worry. You can attend many Purim events taking place this weekend and throughout the week. There is also the community talk with David S. Koffman on Sunday that will examine what Jewish and Indigenous peoples’ interactions have looked like in Canada. Please engage with the rich Jewish life we are so privileged to enjoy in Edmonton.

Shabbat Shalom,

Stacey