Russia’s aggression, the plight of Ukrainian citizens, and the serious global implications and threats are keeping the world on edge. In this week’s message, I want to focus on the Jewish element in this attack and the humanitarian crisis.

One of our newly expressed values—Yisrael Arevim Zeh L’zeh—all the people of Israel care for each other—is a notion of communal responsibility and a powerful statement of Jewish peoplehood and the bond between all Jews. Ukraine is home to approximately 200,000 Jews (some estimates are significantly higher), more than half of whom live in Kyiv. The country boasts close to 300 Jewish organizations in some 100 towns and cities. Every year, a portion of the funds raised by Jewish Federation of Edmonton’s annual campaign supports our Israel and overseas partners, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the Joint Distribution Community (JDC). Both JAFI and JDC have historically been active in the Ukraine supporting Jewish life, caring for the vulnerable, and facilitating the Aliyah of all those aspiring to settle in Israel. Here are two examples:

• The JDC operates seven Jewish community centres and 18 Hesed (kindness) centres in the Ukraine. They serve over 37,000 elderly Ukrainian Jews, including 9,900 Holocaust survivors. They provide food, medicine and other vital supplies. This past summer, JAFI ran camps for teenagers for almost 2,000 children, alongside several Aliyah seminars and holiday celebrations in peripheral Jewish communities. 
• Just as young adults from Edmonton with Federation’s help take part in Birthright Israel experiences, so do their peers from the Ukraine. Right now, 26 participants from the Ukraine are in Israel, 16 of whom were supposed to fly home yesterday morning and are sheltered in hotels in Tel Aviv. They are desperate for news about the safety and well-being of their loved ones.

On the ground, JAFI is focused on Aliyah, evacuation and community security, as there is a significant threat of looting or violence of Jewish institutions. The JDC is looking to maintain critical welfare services and assist internally displaced people in multiple locations. Both the JDC and JAFI have identified new and immediate needs. These include emergency preparations and stockpiling of goods for JDC Hesed centres (food and medicine), starting the Jewish Agency Aliyah hotline, securing temporary housing for populations in transit, and security at Jewish institutions. For those wanting to bolster these efforts, Federation has launched a Ukraine Relief Fund, with 100 per cent of all funds to support the Ukraine’s Jewish community. 

Jewish Federation of Edmonton is part of a legacy. We have consistently responded to humanitarian crises, and thanks to you, we have always been and continue to be there for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. This is the power of the Federation movement and our partners—always there, always ready, always caring. We are one Jewish people and today it is Ukrainian Jews who are at-risk and need our help.

Shabbat Shalom,

Stacey 

P.S. The Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, Ephraim Mirvis has composed a prayer for the people of the Ukraine.