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www.jewishnews.co.uk
Jewish News 10 March 2022
PUTIN’S WAR ON UKRAINE
Charities raise more than The Jewish community continued to rally to raise funds this week for Ukrainians impacted by Russia’s invasion, with ORT UK announcing a partnership with World Jewish Relief (WJR), writes Jeremy Last. On Tuesday, ORT broke with protocol by urging its donors to support WJR’s Ukraine Crisis Appeal rather than give directly to ORT. Yesterday, WJR said its campaign has so far raised more than £3 million. With Jews and non-Jews across Ukraine continuing to suffer from the bombardment by Russian forces, ORT decided that teaming up with
WJR would be the most effective way of helping its Ukrainian community. ORT has a strong presence in Ukraine, where it has been operating for 25 years. It provides education to 8,000 students, staff and families in Ukraine via its schools and training centres. Currently, all ORT’s schools and training centres in Ukraine are closed. Dan Rickman, CEO of ORT UK, said: “Given the extreme situation, our current priority is to ensure that the emergency needs of our Ukrainian community are being served. It is for this reason that we have made the decision to partner
with World Jewish Relief, in support of its Ukraine Crisis Appeal.” WJR is proactively working with its 29 partners in Ukraine and is responding to emergency humanitarian needs within and beyond Jewish communities. The WJR campaign has already had a strong impact across Ukraine. The charity said it has been providing cash transfers, food and medical equipment to residents, continuing home care and providing psychological support and assisting its partners to evacuate vulnerable people where it is safe to do so.
It has also sent specialists from its humanitarian and refugee teams to Poland and Moldova to support its partners in expanding their capacity to assist refugees fleeing Ukraine. In Krakow, WJR is assisting the Jewish Community Centre, helping it to support incoming Ukrainian refugees with safe spaces for women and children, an information hub and accommodation. And in Kyiv, WJR is supporting organisations procuring and hand-delivering food and hot meals to Ukrainians hampered by blockades around the city. Rickman added: “We know how
unusual it is for a charity to ask its donors to consider donating to another charity, but these are unusual times. “None of us know how long this situation will continue, but as soon as we are able to, ORT will focus on rebuilding our Jewish schools in Ukraine. In the meantime, we’ll also continue to fundraise for ORT’s educational projects around the globe and in the UK. “ORT UK fully believe that by uniting with the agency best placed to deliver and provide aid, we can ensure that our ORT ben-
‘WE TOOK IN KINDER BUT TURN AWAY UKRAINIANS’
Boris Johnson wants checks
Boris Johnson has ruled out dispensing with checks on Ukrainian refugees attempting to flee to the UK from their war-ravaged country, telling MPs this would “expose this country to unnecessary security risks”. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey told the prime minister in the Commons yesterday that “in the months before World War II, the UK took in more than 60,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution.”
Davey also noted that thousands of Ugandans expelled by former leader Idi Amin, Tamils escaping civil war, Bosnians and Syrians had been welcomed into the UK, but the Home Office was now “turning away hundreds of Ukranian refugees escaping Putin because they did not have the right paperwork”. The Lib Dem leader then added: “Can you, prime minister, not see this flies in the face of this country’s proud tradition of providing sanctuary?”
Responding, Johnson insisted that what Davey had said about the UK was “completely wrong”, adding that “no one has been turned away”. He pointed to the refugees from Afghanistan, the applications to settle in the UK from Hong Kong Chinese and the thousands of Syrians who had arrived here. Johnson then added: “It is important to have checks, let me make this clear.
“People need to understand, there are some people who would like to dispense with checks altogether... simply to wave people thorough. “I have got to say I do think that is irresponsible and I do not think that is the approach we should be taking. “We must in no doubt… we know how unscrupulous Vladimir Putin can be. “It would not be right to expose this country to unnecessary security risks.”
