Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
US Jewish Humanitarian Organization Distributes Rosh Hashanah Packages in Ukraine
Error: Contact form not found.
by Algemeiner Staff
JDC volunteers at work in Ukraine. Photo: Screenshot
Thousands of food packages will be distributed to needy Jewish communities across war-torn Ukraine ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which falls on Sept. 15.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) — a US-based Jewish humanitarian organization that has been active in Ukraine and the wider region for more than a century — said it was “providing thousands of the most impoverished Jews in the country with food aid packages containing traditional holiday items, such as apples and honey. These packages are critically needed as unemployment and displacement continue, upending lives and livelihoods throughout Ukraine.”
Eighteen months into Russia’s invasion of its southern neighbor, “it is important that our compassion and assistance to those in need flow abundantly,” JDC CEO Ariel Zwang commented.
“From besieged Jewish communities in Ukraine, to young Jews embracing their Jewish identities in new and exciting ways, we’re proud our food packages and hundreds of festive events will ensure they can fully embrace the holiday and affirm Jewish life for generations to come,” Zwang said.
The organization said it would hold “scores of Jewish New Year events, both online and in-person, and local Jewish community volunteers will deliver food packages and lead programs bringing the holiday to needy and homebound elderly, displaced, and newly poor.”
In Kyiv, the organization added, “JDC’s JCC Halom will hold more than a dozen holiday activities for community members of all ages. In Kharkiv, Sumy, and Poltava, Jewish families can participate in art and culinary classes, festive performances, holiday liturgy classes, and special educational events on Rosh Hashanah traditions and history. Mykolayiv’s elderly Jews will have the opportunity to tune into the virtual tour of ‘Rosh Hashanah in Fine Arts,’ while in Odesa, participants of Active Jewish Teens (AJT), JDC’s youth network which is part of the BBYO global movement, will partake in a special Rosh Hashanah celebration in the Black Sea port city.”
Around 50,000 Jews were living in Ukraine prior to the onset of Russia’s invasion in Feb. 2022. According to research by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, a London-based think tank, about 190,000 Ukrainian citizens are eligible to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return.
