As the war in Ukraine enters its second month, our Ukrainian Masorti/Conservative communities across the country and beyond its borders are still in need of our support. Together with Masorti Olami’s partners at The Schechter Institutes, we are continuing to assist community members both within Ukraine and in host countries around the world.

Currently, Ukrainian refugees are being hosted by our generous communities and friends in Germany, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Israel and Czechia and many more are continuing their journeys to safety, crossing many international borders. Our movement’s efforts led by Tehila Reuben, Deputy Director of Masorti and MERCAZ Olami and by Rabbi Irina Gritsevsky, Director of Midreshet Schechter, are extremely vital in supporting our Ukrainian communities through the war and in creating support networks to deal with the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.

We want to especially thank our partners and donors from around the world who have enabled us to support our Ukrainian Masorti/Conservative communities. Thanks to your donations, we have been able to evacuate over 100 refugees from Ukraine to safe places, and have been able to provide them with everything they may need such as food, medicine, transport and shelter, along their journeys and in their host communities.

The joyous holiday of Purim looked slightly different this year for our Ukrainian communities but was celebrated nonetheless. Rabbi Irina Gritsevsky, Director of Midreshet Schechter visited Chernivtsi alongside Rabbi Avi Novis-Deutsch, Dean of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, taking with them a Megillat Esther as well as vital food and medical supplies. Chernivtsi, home to one of our Ukrainian Masorti/Conservative communities, has recently become a temporary place of refuge to those fleeing fighting in the rest of the country as well as to those in transit out of Ukraine. The daring duo, who entered Ukraine through the Romanian border, ensured that even amidst war, our Ukrainian community members currently in Chernivtsi could celebrate the joy of Purim and fulfil the mitzvah of reading the Megillah. Together they also made hamantashen and dressed up to mark the holiday. The reading was broadcast live on Facebook and can be watched here.

Although Purim in Chernivtsi was successful, our communities around the country have been under bombing for almost one month now. Odessa, a coastal city is facing bombardment from the sea, with community members sheltering at home. Despite this, Purim was celebrated with a small gathering and Megillah reading, supported by Masorti Olami and The Schechter Institutes and led by community leader Lev Klaiman.

Kharkiv in the far east of Ukraine had a not so joyful Purim. “Purim was terrible” says Rabbi Gritsevsky, and those children in the city who made their way to the community’s school were unable to finish making hamantashen after a bomb close by destroyed the water and electricity supply to the building. We are continuing to support the community in the capital, Kyiv, whose Torah scrolls have been hidden by the community’s administrative director Maxim in order to protect them from destruction. A larger number of the Kyiv community members have fled the city to Chernivtsi and beyond, and those who remain are taking care of the elderly and vulnerable who are unable to leave their homes.

Outside of Ukraine meanwhile, Ukrainian Masorti/Conservative community members have celebrated Purim both in Israel and Germany, as well as in other European countries where they have found refuge. Our Masorti/Conservative community in Berlin, welcomed many ‘guests’ into their community, seeing to their every need and ensuring that Purim could go ahead. The community’s Masorti school held a Purim Spiel and the community hosted a Purim party and Megillah reading. In Israel, Ukrainian refugees were hosted around the country, including at Kibbutz Ketura and Kibbutz Hannaton where they could celebrate Purim in new surroundings, thanks to the incredible help and efforts of The Masorti Movement in Israel. More members of our Ukrainian communities will be making the journey to Israel in the upcoming days, joining those already here.

Basic goods and supplies are needed by our communities across the country and in their new homes. This includes food, medical supplies, vitamins and sanitary products as well as protective gear and equipment.

Pesach supplies are needed by our communities across the country and in their new homes. This includes food and equipment such as Seder plates, matzah as well as Russian and Ukrainian haggadot in order to celebrate the holiday.

Educational materials and supplies are needed by the Masorti/Conservative kindergarten and school in Berlin, as the institutions have expanded dramatically in order to accommodate the new Ukrainian guest students. 

Transport and evacuation to safe communities and houses, both in western Ukraine and in neighboring European countries, as well as Israel, is still needed for those who are fleeing the war. Our community members need to be evacuated to safety, and need accommodation once they reach their destinations.

Long-term support and rebuilding of our Ukrainian communities will be needed. While we deal with the most pressing needs on the ground, together with our partners, we are starting to build a plan for the ‘day after’, when our community members will need to rebuild their lives wherever they find themselves.

NOAM Olami Chapters from around the world have come together to create a beautiful joint message for NOAM Ukraine, and all those impacted by the situation in Ukraine, which can be viewed here.

On February 24, we were joined by over 1000 people online for our 'Prayer For Peace In Ukraine', organized together with our partners at The Schechter Institutes, Masorti Israel, Rabbinical Assembly, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and MERCAZ Olami. If you missed the live prayer or would like to relive it, it can be viewed here.

You can also find the special Prayer for Peace which was written for Ukraine by Masorti Israel and the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel in: English, French, Hebrew and Spanish.

Our partners at The Schechter Institutes have created a source sheet which we hope will be useful in your communities as you discuss current world events and ways in which you might support Ukraine including its Jewish communities. Please be in touch with us if you would like these materials translated for your community. The source sheet can be found here.

The ongoing efforts of Masorti Olami and The Schechter Institutes as well as by other Jewish organizations across Germany have been covered by Haaretz, a leading Israeli newspaper. Read more about our work for our Ukrainian communities and on why Jewish Ukrainian refugees are finding refuge in Germany, here.

Click here to donate via Masorti Olami. To donate to Masorti Olami from the UK, click here.

Or via our partners at The Schechter Institutes, Inc. here.