PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Jewish Federation of the Berkshires has joined the Jewish Federations of North America's (JFNA) $20 million emergency campaign to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable Jewish populations living in Ukraine. 

 

Funds will be allocated through Jewish Federations' core partners, The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), The Joint Distribution Committee(JDC), and World ORT, who are on the ground in Ukraine providing critical welfare and support to Ukraine's Jewish community.

 

The Berkshire Jewish community has raised over $20,000 to date. Federation's Executive Committee recently allocated an additional $10,000 from its emergency reserves.

 

Funds will support urgent necessities of vulnerable Jewish populations, including food, transportation, temporary housing for displaced persons, emergency needs in schools, and emigration-related assistance.

 

"This is an essential part of what we do as a Jewish community," said Elisa Schindler Frankel, the Federation's president. "We care for those in need, sustain Jewish life, and offer help not only across the Berkshires but also around the world, especially in embattled Jewish communities like Ukraine where robust Jewish life was decimated in the last century."

 

According to a press release, approximately 200,000 members of Ukraine's Jewish community are dispersed over some 100 towns and cities. Since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, Ukrainians have been profoundly affected by political and economic instability. Jewish Federations and their partners provided ongoing support to this vulnerable population for communal needs, programming, and humanitarian aid.

 

Through JAFI, Jewish Federations have brought emissaries from Israel to Ukraine to support a significant wave of immigration requests. They have opened six processing stations in Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Hungary along the Ukrainian border. In addition, the Agency set up two emergency call centers that operate 24/7.

 

Through JDC, Jewish Federations support hundreds of Jewish care centers serving the most vulnerable people of Ukraine, including remaining Holocaust survivors. In recent months, JDC and its volunteer corps expanded humanitarian aid, providing extra essentials and activated emergency hotlines in the face of rising food, medicine, and utility costs. In response to the significant movement of the population, JDC has secured shelters for fleeing or displaced individuals that provide necessities and welfare support. In addition, JDC set up transportation to these safe locations.

 

Through World ORT, Jewish Federations have played a role in renewing Jewish life through Jewish day schools and vocational training in Ukraine. With schools closed across the region, the organization is reinforcing safety and security measures and providing emergency welfare support to its students, teachers, and families.

 

"Jewish Federations are hard at work, day after day, year after year, in times of crisis and calm, to build flourishing Jewish communities," said Mark Wilf, chair of the Board of Trustees of Jewish Federations of North America. "And when an emergency erupts, we are positioned to meet the challenges of Jewish people and communities around the world."