Rabbi offers words of support to Ukrainian Jews

Valley Stream Jewish Center (previously Temple Gates of Zion) Rabbi Yechiel (Joel N. Buchband) hears the echo of the past in the current crisis in Ukraine.

During the time of the Czar, before the Soviet Union rose and fell, Jews were restricted in where they could live and set up settlements. The Pale of Settlement were parts of the Russian Empire where Jews were permitted, and Ukraine was the heart of the largest settlement, where millions of Jews came together. “That part of the world has an awful lot of painful Jewish history” he said.

In the current climate it’s hard to verify how many of the Jewish faith are located in Ukraine, after years of masking identities on passports to obtain better jobs and educational opportunities. In a 2020 demographic study of European Jewry, the number of Ukrainians who identify as Jews was placed at 43,000, but some estimates based off of ancestry quadruple that number.

As Ukraine has turned into a battleground against unprovoked Russian invasion, thousands of uprooted Ukranian citizens are fleeing. And as the history of Jewish persecution in Eastern Europe has shown, the current situation could prove disastorous for the frequently targeted demographic. 

“Sometimes in war time there can be a great deal of chaos and a breakdown of law and order and if that happens that’s a dangerous situation and there can easily be, based on the history…attacks on the Jews,” said Yechiel who graduated from Columbia University, majoring in history and minoring in Judaic Studies.

A number of veteran Jewish organizations are working towards helping Ukraninan Jews emigrate safely to nearby countries or even seek refuge in Israel. Organizations like The Joint (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) has started an emergency humanitarian campaign to help Ukraine’s most vulnerable Jews in need. They have set up donations on their website that will go to providing food, medicine, and transportation of displaced persons. They have also set up new communication hotlines in Moldova and Israel to maintain human connection for Shabbat and moral.

“If they’re going to stay [in Ukraine], it’s a very dangerous time and were certainly doing what we can to communicate our concern, our support, and our love,” said Yechiel.

Rabbi Yechiel offered his words of support for those families facing the impossible:

“We will do everything we possibly can to help you; if you decide to come here, we will welcome you. If you decide to move to Israel, we will help you move there: there are lots of Jewish organizations that are waiting to stand by your side.”

Yechiel explains that the common loss of identity of Ukranian Jews does not disqualify those of ancestry from seeking refuge in Israel.

“A lot of them theoretically could emigrate to Israel, any person that has a Jewish grandparent would be welcomed by the state of Israel,” said Yechiel.

Another agency, active for 90 years assisting Jewish people across the globe is the Jewish Agency for Israel. The following is stated on their website: “We founded and built the State of Israel, and we continue creating links globally—bringing Jews to Israel and Israel to Jews around the world.” The agency is currently on the ground in Ukraine assisting Jews looking to absorb into Israel quickly and safely.

Both organizations and many more online are asking for donations during this unimaginable crisis. Please consider donating.

For furthter information on how to make a donation to the JDC’s emergency relief efforts, please visit their website at www.jdc.org/give. To provide donations to the Jewish Agency for Israel, please visit them at: www.jewishagency.org.