By: Dr. Jürgen Bühler, ICEJ President

Highlights in this update:

• Israel on forefront of nations not bordering Ukraine to assist in refugee crisis
• Israel receives non-Jewish refugees – including flight of 100 orphans
• ICEJ responds by assisting children in the group who have special needs
• ICEJ working inside Kyiv and other cities to assist Holocaust Survivors
• ICEJ Branches in Europe delivering supplies to refugees in Poland and assisting Jewish communities that have fled

 

Shalom from Jerusalem.

What dramatic days we are living in. The crisis in Ukraine is indeed a crisis that is changing the entire world right now. What is even more traumatic is that it is changing the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of individuals. People say it is the largest refugee crisis since World War II and Israel finds itself right in the center of that crisis.

Just a few days ago the Israeli government decided to accept non-Jewish refugees and welcome them here in the land of Israel.

On top of that, even more Jewish refugees are expected. These people will make Aliyah and be absorbed as Israeli citizens here in the Land of Israel. Because of this decision Israel has become the number one country of all nations that do not border Ukraine, to receive the most refugees in their homeland.

Refugees who arrive to make Aliyah here in Israel will experience a completely different Aliyah than their predecessors. It will be a completely different return to their homeland than everything we have seen in past decades. Those people who are immigrating to Israel right now, didn’t have the luxury to think for weeks and months, to talk to the Jewish Agency or to the Israeli Embassy, or even with their families, about how to best make Aliyah. This literally was forced upon them overnight and they had to flee sometimes with only the clothes they were wearing on their bodies. It is a dramatic scene that is unfolding right now in Ukraine.

Just a few days ago the first flight of new immigrants arrived here at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. On board that flight were 100 orphans and the ICEJ is working full-speed to help those on the flight who have special needs.

Several flights are arriving on a daily basis and I’m very glad to tell you that the ICEJ has helped hundreds of new immigrants to make Aliyah in the past few days.

Also, we are working on the ground in Kyiv in Ukraine and in other cities to help, in particular, Holocaust Survivors. For those people who are advanced in age we want to do our utmost to make it as fast and convenient as possible for them to return back to Israel – the land of their forefathers. Some of them might end up in our Home for Holocaust Survivors. Others will be absorbed into families or with friends, or in other institutions.

And, right now, trucks are leaving Helsinki, Finland in order to bring much needed aid to countries like Poland where many refugees are waiting for their basic supplies. As a matter of fact, many of our European branches are working right now, full speed, to help, in particular, the Jewish communities that are fleeing the country of Ukraine.

We are working on all fronts in order to alleviate the pressure that has come upon many people including the Jewish people in that region and you can become part by donating today. Your help and your support is much needed. Maybe now more than ever before.

The prophet Isaiah says in chapter 21:14-15:

To the thirsty bring water; meet the fugitive with bread …. For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle.