4 | MARCH 17 • 2022 

I

t is in times of crisis that the strength and 
resilience of our local and international 
Jewish community is most evident.
This remarkable community has raised over 
$3 million to provide urgent support to the 
Jewish population of Ukraine. 
Roughly half of those funds 
have been allocated through 
the Jewish Federation’s Ukraine 
Emergency Campaign to our 
international partners on 
the ground: American Joint 
Distribution Committee (JDC), 
The Jewish Agency for Israel 
(JAFI) and World ORT. The 
other half of the funding has 
been made directly to those 
relief organizations by a variety 
of local Jewish foundations and 
funders. Once again, we want to 
express our deepest gratitude to 
everyone who has participated 
in this effort.
Tragically, the crisis continues 
to deepen. As we watch events 
unfold in Ukraine, we contin-
ue to pray for the safety and 
well-being of our Jewish family, 
as well as the entire civilian pop-
ulation.
Your support makes a difference. Below 
you’ll find information on how our partner 
agencies have been providing critical humani-
tarian aid during this crisis. 

JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL (JAFI) 
• The Jewish Agency for Israel has received 

some 6,000 requests to immigrate to Israel 
in recent days and believes that up to 15,000 
Ukrainian immigrants could arrive in Israel in 
the near future, in what would only be the first 
wave of refugees headed to the Jewish state. 
Seven hundred Jews have so far arrived at ali-
yah (immigration to Israel) processing centers 
including 100 Jewish orphans.
• The Agency is now operating both with-
in Ukraine and within Poland, Moldova, 
Romania and Hungary — all neighboring 
countries — at five different crossings and have 
secured over 5,000 beds in transit facilities. The 
Agency reports that they are seeing a signifi-
cant increase in the number of people seeking 
to reach the border and they are helping fam-
ilies and refugees escape through various and 
complex rescue/transportation channels.
• 150 community organizations across 
Ukraine identified by the Jewish Agency’s 
Security Assistance Fund will receive immedi-
ate assistance for protection. This budget will 
be used to implement security measures at 
Jewish organizations and institutions across the 
country.

AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT 
DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE (JDC) 
• In more than 1,000 locations across 
Ukraine, JDC provides a lifeline for an esti-
mated 40,000 Jewish elderly and 2,500 poor 
Jewish children and their families through 
its network of services, Jewish community 
programs and Jewish leaders.
• In total, JDC has helped shelter approxi-
mately 1,500 Jewish refugees, and given other 
support to some 3,000-4,000 Jews, plus thou-

sands more non-Jewish refugees. The assis-
tance includes transit advice, food and more.
• JDC has also evacuated more than 3,000 
Jews together with Chabad, local Jewish 
communities in Ukraine, the Jewish Agency, 
and the Jewish communities of Romania, 
Poland, Moldova and Hungary.

WORLD ORT 
• World ORT supports seven schools in 
Ukraine: in Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Belaya 
Tzerkov, Odessa and Zaporozhe, and two in 
Kyiv. These schools educate more than 3,000 
full-time students.
• ORT also runs KesherNet centers, which 
support unemployed women with job train-
ing, as well as an education center in Kyiv 
and a technology center in Dnipro. As a 
result of the war, all ORT schools in Ukraine 
are currently closed and mobility is limited.
• As a result of 25 years of building 
schools and training centers in Ukraine, 
there are today more than 8,000 people who 
rely on ORT as part of their daily lives. Since 
the start of the conflict, these lives have, of 
course, been upended by rockets, sirens and 
violence.
• The ORT School in neighboring 
Moldova is preparing to eventually accept 
ORT Ukraine refugees at their school and 
is helping with accommodations and essen-
tials.
Donate to the Ukraine Emergency 
Campaign at jewishdetroit.org/ukraine. 
Thank you for your support, and for all you 
have done for our local and international 
Jewish community. 

Matthew B. Lester is president of the Jewish Federation 

of Metropolitan Detroit, Dennis S. Bernard is president of 

the United Jewish Foundation and Steven Ingber is CEO 

of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.

Matthew B. 
Lester

PURELY COMMENTARY

Dennis S. 
Bernard

Steven 
Ingber

update
Federation’s Ukraine Crisis Fund

JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL

AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE 

