IFCJ ups aid to Jews in Ukraine

Jews in Ukraine in need of food, medical items and more receive aid from on-site volunteers supported by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, February 2023. Photo by Avishag Shaar-Yashuv.

One year into the war in Ukraine, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has pledged to increase its funding to Jewish communities in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union by $4 million. The group stated that it has already raised more than $30 million, which it distributed along with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

“The latest funding will be earmarked to purchase food, medicines, clothing, heating and cooking appliances and other supplies specifically intended to help keep people safe and warm,” the fellowship stated.

“To date, over 70,000 people across the war-torn regions, primarily the elderly and families with young children, have been the beneficiaries of IFCJ support, which includes tens of thousands of food packages every month, dozens of generators and more,” it added.

The group has also facilitated 28 charter flights, which helped 5,000 Jews emigrate to Israel from Ukraine. It has also worked with the Jewish Agency for Israel, Nativ, and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration “to bring thousands more refugees to Israel,” it added.

“It is our fervent prayer that this war will end very soon, and some degree of normalcy can be restored to these people’s lives,” said Yael Eckstein, president of the fellowship. “But until that time, it is our pledge that the Jewish community in Ukraine know they will not be forgotten.”