OUR COMMUNITY

A 

group of Ukrainian 
students were 
scheduled to 
arrive at Hadassah Youth 
Aliyah Villages in Israel in 
September. However, the onset 
of a vicious and bloody war 
between Ukraine and Russia 
pushed them to arrive nearly 
six months ahead of schedule.
As of the most recent count, 
21 high school-age Ukrainian 

teens arrived at Hadassah’s two 
youth villages, Neurim and 
Meir Shfeyah, between March 
and April. Before the war broke 
out, they had begun the appli-
cation process to come to the 
villages, which provide services 
like education and vocational 
training, in addition to teaching 
youth about Judaism, but the 
timeline was quickly accelerated 
to transport them to safety.

Teen participants, who 
previously arrived prepared, 
making the journey to Israel 
with clothing, goods, basic 
necessities, and even sometimes 
spending money, are now arriv-
ing with just the clothes on their 
backs. Some come with their 
families, who shelter in Israel. 
Many, however, don’t know 
where their families are. They 
have parents in transit out of 
Ukraine, stuck in Ukraine or 
relatives that they’ve lost contact 
with all together.
Instead of arriving as youth 
ready to learn, Ukrainian teens 
now arrive as refugees.
“We have had hundreds of 
students in our two villages who 
have come from the former 
Soviet Union,
” explains Marcie 
Natan, national chair of youth 
aliyah and former national 
president of Hadassah. “We’ve 
always referred to them as FSU 
students.
”
Nancy Bluth, a member of 
Hadassah’s youth aliyah team 
philanthropy division and past 
region president of Hadassah 
Greater Detroit, says it’s impos-

sible to fully understand the 
trauma and uncertainty the 
Ukrainian teens arriving are 
going through.
“What we can do is give them 
a safe haven, counseling, some 
sense of normalcy and belong-
ing,
” she says. “Our efforts 
provide critical support to help 
restore trust, security and a 
sense of well-being.
”

A HOME IN ISRAEL
Prior to the war, students who 
arrived at Hadassah Youth 
Aliyah Villages were thor-
oughly vetted and prepared. 
Many grew up in non-practic-
ing households and wanted to 
make a connection with their 
Jewish roots in Israel. The 
villages have long held special 
programs geared specifically 
for the needs of Jewish youth 
from the former Soviet Union, 
most of whom never engaged 
with Judaism due to cultural 
restrictions.
Yet for the foreseeable 
future, any Ukrainian youth 
who arrive at the youth villag-
es will remain in Israel. “We’re 

Saving 
Ukrainian 
Teens

28 | APRIL 21 • 2022 

Hadassah CEO Naomi Adler (front row, fourth from the left, wearing a black sweater) with Na’ale students who came from Russia and Ukraine

Israel’s Hadassah Youth Villages 
undertakes an emergency effort 
to save youth.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

HADASSAH

