30 | OCTOBER 26 • 2023 J
N

OUR COMMUNITY

V

ladimir Gendelman 
and Sergey Polyachok 
never thought they’
d 
see one another again, but the 
then-15-year-old best friends — 
who emigrated from the former 
Soviet Union as Jewish refugees 
in 1989 — made a promise to 
one another they intended to 
keep.
Both would serve as the 
other’s best man at their 
weddings, despite Gendelman 
having moved to Metro Detroit 
and Polyachok to Israel. At the 
time, free phone calls weren’t a 
thing, but the two remained in 
touch despite the thousands of 
miles between them.
As promised, Gendelman 
traveled to Israel in 2001 to 
be Polyachok’s best man at his 
wedding, and Polyachok in 
return came to Metro Detroit 
for Gendelman’s wedding in 
2005.
Since then, they’ve seen 
one another several times and 
remain in constant contact.
As natives of Kharkiv, 
Ukraine, which has faced some 
of the worst destruction in the 
ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the 
friends are yet again navigating 
a war that deeply impacts the 
Jewish people. And this time, 
Polyachok is witnessing the 
impact firsthand.

A COMMUNITY EFFORT 
A Haifa resident and tour guide, 
Polyachok himself remains 
relatively safe in northern Israel, 

but his son, like many Israelis, 
has been mobilized for the 
Israel-Hamas conflict. 
As a mechanic for the Israel 
Defense Forces, 22-year-old 
Danny Polyachok is stationed 
on a base in northern Israel, but 
during his time in active army 
service in years prior, almost 
every base he served in southern 
Israel has since been attacked by 
Hamas.
Initially, Danny Polyachok 
was issued a bulletproof vest that 
didn’t fit, but the situation has 
since resolved itself thanks to an 
influx of donations and supplies 
being sent to IDF soldiers from 
within Israel and around the 
world.
Sergey Polyachok, 49, says 
the mood was optimistic when 
he visited his son at his base. 
“There was a queue line of the 
cars of the parents that came to 

the base to bring food for the 
kids,
” he says. “One father came 
with a big truck and was taking 
boxes upon boxes of food.
”
Polyachok calls the effort 
“amazing” and has seen “huge 
support from civilians.
”
In the city of Katzrin in the 
Golan Heights, for example, 
Polyachok says a massive sign 
has been displayed that says, “If 
you’re short on money, the food 
is on us.
”
“Everybody is trying to help,
” 
he explains.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Still, like many Israelis and Jews 
worldwide, Polyachok can’t help 
but ask himself, “How could 
something like this happen?”
For Gendelman, 49, who 
is the founder and CEO of 
Pontiac-based Company 
Folders, watching the 

destruction from afar has been 
devastating.
He’s kept in close contact with 
Polyachok, and has witnessed 
his friend, like many Israelis, 
go through a wide array of 
emotions that range from 
optimistic, to sadness, shock and 
disbelief.
“It’s horrible,
” Gendelman 
says. “There’s no real way to 
describe any of this.
”
However, Metro Detroiters 
have been quick to act.
Numerous local Jewish 
community members are 
gathering supplies to send 
to Israel, while organizations 
like the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit have 
launched an Israel Emergency 
Campaign (https://jewishdetroit.
org/iec) to support victims of 
terror, rebuild infrastructure and 
more.
Gendelman says for Metro 
Detroiters struggling to 
comprehend what’s transpiring 
in Israel, but who want to get 
involved, these efforts are crucial 
to supporting the cause.
“It ensures soldiers are warm 
and that they have enough 
food,
” he says of fundraising 
efforts (particularly in northern 
Israel, where temperatures often 
drop). “Families also need all 
sorts of financial aid now for 
basics such as food, shelter and 
clothing.
” 

For more ways to support Israel, visit 

https://tinyurl.com/mkhprh2t. 

Two best friends in Metro Detroit and 
Israel continue to support one another.

Despite War, a Lifelong 
Promise Goes On

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Sergey Polyachok, who lives in Israel, and Vladimir Gendelman.

