30 | MARCH 24 • 2022
R
abbi Yaakov Bleich, a chief rabbi
of Ukraine, is working around
the clock to provide food, shel-
ter, safety and evacuation routes for
Ukrainian Jews displaced by the ongoing
crisis.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on
Feb. 24, Rabbi Bleich has spent his days
moving between Poland and
Hungary, helping refugees
reach the border and orga-
nizing escape plans for those
trapped within besieged cit-
ies like Kyiv, where he serves
as rabbi of the Kyiv Main
synagogue in Podol and
vice president of the World
Jewish Congress.
Rabbi Bleich, who is American-born
and has worked in Kyiv since 1991, man-
aged to leave Ukraine just a few days
before the war broke out. At the time,
he was working back and forth between
Ukraine and New York.
“He attempted to go right back [to
Ukraine],” says Rabbi Avrohom Bleich,
Yaakov’s brother, who is the rabbi at
Congregation Bnai Israel-Beth Yehudah
in Oak Park. “But he wasn’t able to get
back in.”
Instead, Rabbi Yaakov Bleich did what
he could from outside of the country.
“Every single day since a few days before
the war and until this very day, he has
buses leaving his shul taking Jewish ref-
ugees out of Kyiv, those who are willing
and able to leave,” his brother explains.
Each day, several buses full of 50 ref-
ugees at a time leave Kyiv and travel to
the border. People are allowed one piece
of small baggage, often leaving most of
their possessions behind. It’s a dangerous
journey. Buses encounter checkpoints,
shelling and shooting, sometimes trav-
eling through routes that are just as
unsafe — if not more unsafe — than the
Ukrainian capital itself.
It’s a risk, however, they’re willing to
take, knowing that on the other side of
the border is safety.
“At this point, they’ve taken out thou-
sands on these buses,” Rabbi Avrohom
Bleich says. “It’s terribly dangerous.
People are shot at all the time on the
roads, either by mistake or on purpose.”
Refugee buses travel by military escort,
who help get the buses in and out of the
city to the Ukrainian borders, where
there are refugee camps. “It’s a lengthy
process,” Rabbi Bleich adds.
The Hungarian border, in particular,
has been extremely helpful to Rabbi
Yaakov Bleich’s mission. It’s what his
brother calls a “relatively simple walk”
— about 30 minutes to cross by foot into
Hungary from Ukraine — compared to
other borders, which have more chal-
lenging routes.
“The border is not just going to let
your bus drive right through,” Rabbi
Avrohom Bleich says. “It doesn’t work
like that.”
A PRESSURE CAMPAIGN
TO “LEAVE UKRAINE”
Right now, the mission is to get people to
leave Ukraine.
“It’s a pressure campaign,” Rabbi Bleich
continues. “It’s calling people and telling
them to get out or contacting their rela-
tives and telling them they should leave.”
With one road left out of Kyiv that
may not be open much longer, he adds,
“Leave, because otherwise it’s not good.”
If the war continues, Rabbi Bleich esti-
mates that the needs will quickly change.
“This is going to shift more and more
from a rescue situation to a refugee situ-
ation,” he explains.
Not everyone, however, is willing
or able to leave, keeping thousands
of Ukrainian Jews at risk if the crisis
becomes a long-term issue. Right now,
donations are crucial to keep operations
afloat.
“People are giving their lives for this,”
Rabbi Bleich, who recently spoke about
the issue at an event at Young Israel of
Oak Park, says. “The rest of us, we can
try to support them financially and
through prayer.”
OUR COMMUNITY
Rabbi
Avrohom
Bleich
Chief Rabbi of Ukraine
organizes escape routes for
thousands of Jews.
Escape
from Kyiv
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SNAPCHAT
Rabbi Yaakov
Bleich walking
though the
border to
Hungary
Rabbi Yaakov Bleich
with a refugee at the
Kosson/Hungary border.