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