As the devastation in Ukraine continues into its seventh week, and we learn of the horrifying war crimes and see the barbaric images, there’s a deepening urge to help in any way we can.

Well beyond financial assistance, it’s been heartwarming to witness the extraordinary outpouring of support from across our community. Just two examples: Last week, UJA organized a one-day food drive with synagogues in New York, Long Island, and Westchester. Close to 100 volunteers sorted 12,000 pounds of Passover food, which was then packed onto pallets by our partner Met Council and sent to Ukraine. At another venue, hundreds of additional volunteers joined our partner the Afya Foundation and sorted 10,000 pounds of critically needed supplies to be sent to Ukraine. We sent buses to the Hillels at Brooklyn College and Queens College so that their students, many from families that emigrated from the former Soviet Union, could participate, knowing how personal this is for them.

And then there are acts of volunteerism that go above and beyond. This week, two UJA professionals, Lena Katsnelson and Alex Bebeshko, left their young children and spouses and traveled to Budapest — Lena for a week and Alex for 10 days — to help Ukrainian refugees who'd fled there. In their day-to-day lives, Lena is campaign director of our Lawyers Division and Alex is manager of our Healthcare and Russian Divisions.

Both Lena and Alex are Russian-speaking, having immigrated to America as children with the help of UJA's nonprofit partners — Lena from Belarus and Alex from Ukraine. When COJECO, one of our partners, reached out about a Hazon-funded initiative that recruits volunteers for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) — also UJA partners — Lena and Alex jumped at the opportunity, with our blessing and full support.

Lena sent us this dispatch — which I share with you — giving a window into the experience.  

From Lena:  

Alex and I are in Budapest, working under the banner of JDC alongside several other Jewish organizations, in particular the Jewish Agency for Israel. This is truly a global Jewish effort — the organized Jewish community in Ukraine was instrumental in maintaining, supporting, and evacuating many of the refugees. Once here, they are met with Russian-speaking volunteers from New York, Los Angeles, Israel, and Ukraine.  

We have medical professionals in our group, offering quick and easy medical consultations and medications to refugees who need them. Alex and I are serving as case managers and organizers. Our most frequent responsibilities include triage, troubleshooting, and schlepping. We meet people either at the JCC or at one of the refugee hotels, we listen to them, offer them necessities (soap, clothes, sanitary items, children's books/toys), and then we do whatever else they may need.

We are also working with JCC Budapest to create programming to engage the refugees here, in particular the kids and families. So far, we have organized a sports outing to a big gym for some soccer, a circus and theater performance at the JCC, and a trip to a science museum for teens. We are hoping to plan more before I leave, including some tours of Budapest for the parents who are overwhelmed and could use some respite.

It is going to be much harder to explain what this means to us. Both Alex and I have been refugees, and we left of our own (or our caregivers’) volition. We were not running from bombs, we were running toward the opportunity to live freely and fully as Jews in a free country. These people have fled unspeakable horrors and, as the news comes out from Bucha and other places, they are traumatized all over again. They imagine with anguish not only the experiences of the friends and family they left behind but also picture these war crimes as possible alternate versions of their own stories. The trauma for each individual is simmering on the surface, and we have to be very careful about our language and questions — our fluency and cultural sensitivity are vital; however, even we have slipped up and asked the wrong question to spark an outpouring of grief and trauma.

It feels incredible to be here — like the true sense of the word privilege. What could possibly be better than to offer comfort to those who desperately need it when you are uniquely positioned to do so. The Jewish community gave us the American portion of our lives and the great many benefits that go along with it. Now it’s our turn to uplift and support the people who need it. To show them the incredible light unto the world that is the Jewish community. They are us and they are not us. But we are here. And with our presence, we make an indelible statement — where there is horror and pain, we will meet with abounding love, generosity, and commitment.

One final story — Alex met a grandmother who fled Kyiv. She told him that she actually produced the first Hebrew language cartoon in the former Soviet Union — funded by JDC. On her way to evacuate, she made one stop. She stopped into the local synagogue and, anticipating the impending holiday, grabbed a box of matzah. Alex checked her in and assisted her move into the hotel. Her gratitude to him for the basic human kindness he showed was overwhelming. She told him that the only thing of value she had was the box of matzah she'd taken from the synagogue and insisted he take it as a gift. Although Alex is not a big crier, I promise you he will be sobbing at his seder table breaking that very matzah with his family.  

As Lena notes, we’ll all soon be sitting at our own Passover tables. Next week, I’ll share how UJA has helped assemble and fund a historic group of partners bringing the Passover holiday — and the embrace of the global Jewish community — to tens of thousands of Jews still living in Ukraine, as well as thousands of Jewish refugees who've fled to neighboring countries.

For now, let me express our deep gratitude to Lena and Alex, and to all who are volunteering in any way they can, bringing some measure of comfort to the people of Ukraine.  

Shabbat shalom

P.S. If you want to get involved, check out our volunteer opportunities. Pack supplies for Ukraine with our partner Afya. For those with relevant skills/fluency in specific languages, apply to travel to Ukraine’s border countries and help refugees. Participate in Passover-specific volunteering. And ongoing New York volunteer opportunities can always be found here.