Friends,
“War is a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.” – Thomas Mann
We are heartbroken and outraged as Putin’s merciless war on Ukraine continues. We will not be silent, and we will do all we can to support our partners impacted on the ground.
At Hazon and Hakhel, we have a three-part strategy in responding to this crisis:
- Local Leadership: Ukrainian leaders know their landscape and their needs. We are following the lead of Hakhel community leaders inside Ukraine and local rabbis working with refugees on the borders.
- Collaboration & Partnership: We are partnering with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the European Council of Jewish Communities, Reut, the Jewish Peoplehood Coalition, and more, coordinating our collective crisis response efforts.
- Global Response: We can all do something to help. The situation is rapidly evolving, both in terms of needs and solutions, all of which require resources and support. Sometimes our Ukrainian partners need volunteers, sometimes they need equipment, and throughout the process they need financial resources.
Here are just a few examples of what this strategy looks like on the ground:
- Following up on our weekly meeting with our Ukrainian partners, we received the list of needs from the Lvov communities and are working to deliver what they need.
- We are organizing another large shipment of food and equipment for the community in Medzyboudzh (the historical town of the Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism).
- Hakhel’s second delegation to Moldova has already departed, bringing 14 courageous leaders to support refugees there. The delegation includes medical staff, therapists, educators and logistical experts.
Please support these leaders and all of Hakhel’s crisis response efforts in Ukraine, in collaboration and partnership with all our partners above. Click here to donate and help cover the costs of these extraordinary efforts.
We are deeply grateful to all our donors, volunteers, and everyone who is stepping up to lend their time, expertise, and resources to respond to this humanitarian crisis. We pray for the violence to end, but we are also preparing for an extended period of great need. We will hold true to one of the most central teachings of the Torah:
“Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” -Deuteronomy, 10:19
We send prayers of peace, together, to the people of Ukraine.
B’Shalom,
Jakir Manela, Chief Executive Officer
Aharon Ariel Lavi, Co-Director, Hakhel
Michal Guttman, Co-Director, Hakhel