Fifteen tons of food, hygiene products, heating equipment, and medicine will be sent to Europe from Israel every week thanks to an initiative by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the Latet nongovernmental organization.
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The aid for Jewish communities and refugees will be delivered on planes carrying new immigrants to Israel.
The first plane, carrying tons of dry food, equipment, medicine, and hygiene, made its way to Moldova last Thursday and carried on from there to Ukraine to assist communities during wartime.
The organizations noted the transport of goods was aimed at assisting Jews fleeing the war and sending a message of solidarity. "We are pained by the suffering we see in Ukraine," International Fellowship of Christians and Jews President Yael Eckstein said.
The acquisition of the food and equipment alongside the collection of donations and their packaging will be carried out by Latet, which has experience in emergency assistance in natural disasters and wars. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews will fund the flights and along with the JDC, will contribute to the funding of humanitarian equipment. The JDC, which operates inside Ukraine, will also offer its services to Jewish communities on the ground and ensure all the equipment reaches its destination.
"The war is creating humanitarian needs, which our teams are taking care of on the ground, under fire," Stefan Oscar, the executive director of the JDC in the former Soviet Union, said.
"One cannot stand by and remain indifferent to the human suffering of hundreds of thousands of refugees," said Latet CEO Eran Weintrob.
Due to concerns of a Russian invasion, the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine decided to convert yeshiva facilities to house Jewish refugees fleeing Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other areas in the east of the country. Dozens of Jews have taken refuge at a boarding school and yeshiva.
A Chabad building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro now houses refugees fleeing areas facing heavy Russian bombardment.
"These are Jewish adults, some with difficult medical issues, who are in no state to embark on a long journey that will last several days," Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, said. "They prefer to remain in Ukraine, as close to home as possible, and we afford them this option and get them everything they need.
"Since last Friday, missiles have also begun to land on us, but Dnipro is still considered the safest of the big cities. That is why there is a lot of movement of Jews to it from all over eastern Ukraine. Every day, we take in hundreds of Jews. Very few remain, and a majority continue on trains or buses that we rent to that end."
At the same time, dozens of federation employees and volunteers finished preparing 50,000 gift packages to be distributed to Jews across Ukraine, ahead of the Purim holiday by Chabad, with the assistance of the Rabbinical Center of Europe.
Every package includes a copy of the Book of Esther translated into Ukrainian and Russian, hamantash cookies, chocolates, snacks, and baked goods. Chabad community members are also assisting the refugees.
According to Rabbi Stembler, "Despite the horrors of war, we are making an effort to bring holiday joy to every Jew with the prayer that this year too, we will see miracles."
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