Plight of Jewish Refugees in Kharkov Addressed

On Thursday, 21 August, three Knesset members arrived with a delegation at the Kharkov synagogue to meet with Jewish community leaders to discuss the current situation in Ukraine and how to help absorb the hundreds of Jewish refugees who have fled to Kharkov from Lugansk and Donetsk.

Knesset members Zeev Elkin (Likud Chair, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee), Alex Miller (Yisrael Beitenu ) and Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beitenu Chair, Lobby for Financial Education in Israel) were very concerned about the welfare of the many homeless Jews who are now in Kharkov indefinitely.

Each Kharkov Jewish organization present (Jewish community, Jewish Agency, Joint, Chesed, Jewish schools etc.) explained how they are trying to help the refugees. Chief Rabbi Moishe Moskovitz explained that since the synagogue is the Jewish center of the city – most of these Jewish refugees make their first stop at the synagogue, so the community needs help to give vital aid to these families – food, clothing and somewhere to live. The Jewish community has all its dormitories filled with families, including young children, and daily provides meals to families from Lugansk and Donetsk.

The Knesset members on the one hand were impressed with what is being done – but also gave encouragement to keep looking for a system that will help to solve this large humanitarian crisis. The Rabbi stressed the urgency of establishing an emergency fund to help respond to the needy, and a system to ensure that all the Jewish refugees in Kharkov know that they can turn to the Jewish community for help.