With every new image or story from the front lines in Ukraine, many of us experience the same frustrating mental loop- the conflicting combination of wanting desperately to help while at the same time feeling powerless. How can a single person, thousands of miles away from the war, make a meaningful difference in the life of a person trapped in the middle of it?
In Jewish Memphis, there’s a powerful mechanism built over decades that exists to address this dilemma- Memphis Jewish Federation. When we mobilize our community of donors around a cause, we bundle the many threads of individual generosity that thrive in this community into a single powerful force that can be directed exactly where it needs to go to do the most good for the most people.
Responding quickly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Memphis Jewish Federation joined the Jewish Federations of North America’s (JFNA) $36 million emergency campaign to provide humanitarian assistance. 100% of funds are allocated to those who need it most, through Jewish Federations’ core partners, like The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), a trusted ally already providing critical support to protect and safeguard Ukraine’s Jewish community as well as Jews in neighboring countries.
Before the war, Ukraine was home to one of the largest global Jewish communities with close to 200,000 people, 10,000 of them Holocaust survivors. For the last several years, Memphis Jewish Federation has made an annual grant of $15,000 to support the Jewish community there, particularly in the form of food, medicine, heat, and homecare for some 6,500 Jewish poor and elderly in the Kharkov region.
Now, many thousands of Jews have fled the Russian assault, while Jewish sites, including schools, have been damaged or destroyed by Russian shelling. JDC, the Jewish world’s 911, specializes in providing support to Jews in communities around the world, and during wartime, their work becomes all the more urgent.
“Memphis has always stepped up to meet the needs of Jews a mile away or across the world. Our community stands together with Ukraine and our fellow Jews who need to escape or survive,” said Scott Vogel, Board Chair of Jewish Community Partners, which operates Memphis Jewish Federation. “With the war, the stakes are completely different and the situation much more urgent. But because of the long relationships we’ve had with them, JDC and their on-the-ground partners can be trusted with this difficult job of caring for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.”
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews have fled while about 80% remain in Ukraine, according to data released by JDC April 13. Inside and outside Ukraine, a nation steeped in Jewish history and heritage, Ukrainian Jews are celebrating Passover. Under smoke-filled skies, hundreds lined up outside synagogues hoping to receive a kilo of matzah for their Passover tables, which is now hard to find amid the fighting and crippling food shortages.
“Passover is something familiar and basic for Jewish people,” said Chen Tzuk, JDC’s director of operations in Europe, Asia and Africa. “For refugees who have left everything behind, it’s important to be able celebrate this holiday with honor and dignity.”
This Passover, JDC has shipped more than two tons of matzah, over 400 bottles of grape juice and over 700 pounds of kosher for Passover food for refugees in Poland, Moldova, Hungary, and Romania. The organization is also providing nearly 16 tons of matzah to tens of thousands of Ukrainians, in addition to special holiday material assistance for food. The distribution of matzah is being carried out by JDC’s Hesed social service centers and Jewish volunteer corps and is supported by Federation funds. JDC has also established emergency hotlines to assist the Jewish community in Ukraine, and last week organized in-person Seders in countries bordering Ukraine, and facilitated online Seders where it was too dangerous to gather in person.
Every member of the Memphis Jewish community possesses the power to make life better for Ukrainian Jews. Memphis Jewish Federation was created to face challenges too big for any one person to solve alone and is here to help.