Jewish Federations of North America trip to Berlin and Israel

By Paula Filler, JFNA National Women in Philanthropy Board Member

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) trip to Germany and Israel. Approximately fifty lay and professional Federation leaders participated, representing both large and small Jewish Federation communities. The purpose of this trip was to understand the impact of our philanthropic efforts to support our Jewish people and assess what else is needed. This is the first article to share learnings from this mission.

As we have all been consumed with worry for Israelis, we must not forget the Ukrainians who lost everything when Russia invaded and destroyed their homes and villages. Germany accepted 1,200,000 Ukrainian refugees, and 30,000 of these Ukrainian refugees are Jewish. The refugees are mothers, children and the elderly. They arrived in Germany with almost nothing. They did not speak German and left their husbands and fathers behind to fight the Russians. The children and teens we met still have no idea if they will ever be able to return home, if their towns still exist, or if they will ever see their fathers again. Some children have already learned that their fathers have died or have been severely wounded.

Through our support of Jewish Federations of North America and our partners at JDC and The Jewish Agency for Israel we have been able to help our Jewish refugees survive this trauma. Refugees have also been separated from their friends and neighbors as they had to accept housing anywhere Germany could temporarily resettle them, thus compounding their social isolation trauma. Our funding of mental health counseling and social programming combats depression and isolation.

The Jewish Agency for Israel created a program called Shalom Ukraine. This program was created after an attack on Kyiv in which 40 children died and 150 children were injured. Our mission had the joy of watching and speaking directly with refugee children and teens who are part of a Shalom Ukraine dance troupe program. This program gave these kids an opportunity to be with other Jewish kids who share their language and refugee status — an opportunity to make friends and recognize their own identities.

Our Jewish Federation partner, The Jewish Agency for Israel, also created summer camps and eight community centers with Jewish cultural content in five different countries, including Germany, to serve Ukrainian refugee children. This model has been successful in drawing kids out of depression, and therefore has been duplicated throughout Europe. Shalom Ukraine has created programs for children, teens and their parents who are deprived of their homes, family, friends and dignity. The educational classes have improved their literacy and given these refugees a chance to move forward and live. It should be noted that there is some “Jewish” content in each of the programs, and these programs are offered to the Ukrainian refugees whether they are Jewish or not.