the
bserver
Jewish
Vol. 87 No. 4 • April 2022
www.jewishobservernashville.org
Federation Update on Ukraine Crisis
T
o address the need for volunteers, Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) is creating an online hub. Through a centralized application process, volunteers from North America will be placed with Jewish and Israeli partner organizations working on the ground. JFNA is recruiting qualified applicants through the Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) network to volunteer for two to four weeks, beginning in April, to help refugees on the Ukrainian borders and at “olim hotels.” In particular, JFNA is seeking those with a mental health background. Volunteers will receive insurance coverage, local accommodations, meals, local transport, and a modest end-of-service bonus. The application form can be found at: https://www.tfaforms.com/4972390. Donations are being accepted at www. jewishnashvilleorg/ukraine•
29 Adar II-29 Nisan 5782
Nashville’s Jewish Community Collaborates on Efforts to Aid Newly Arrived Afghan Allies By BARBARA DAB
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ashville’s Jewish community, in partnership with The Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee, and Jewish Family Service of Middle Tennessee, is bringing together dozens of volunteers to aid and support Afghan ally families arriving in Middle Tennessee. According to Nashville International Center for Empowerment (NICE), more than 50,000 people have been forced to flee from Afghanistan, with several hundred arriving in Nashville. To help with needs ranging from housing and other basic necessities, to obtaining a driver’s license, finding a job, and enrolling children in school, three teams of Jewish community volunteers participated in extensive trainings offered by NICE. Volunteers Continued on page 15
Volunteers accompany recently arrived Afghan families on a shopping trip.
Team leader Evelyn Koch getting to know the family her team is sponsoring.
Reflections from the Border of Ukraine and Poland Editor’s Note: Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee Board member, Aron Karabel, spent 36 hours in Poland as part of a JFNA emergency mission to provide support, supplies, and to bear witness to the unfolding refugee crisis in Ukraine. Aron is also the Co-Chair of the JFNA National Young Leadership Cabinet and has just spent an additional week in Israel. He posted the following reflection on his Facebook page, along with photos and videos, from the ground at the border town of Medyka. Additionally, Aron and the roughly 20 other participants brought with them 5,000 lbs in donated clothing, diapers, and other basic necessities. With Aron’s permission, we are reprinting his post as it reflects his real time impressions of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy. Videos can be viewed on The Observer’s website, www.jewishobservernashville.org By ARON KARABEL, CO-CHAIR JFNA NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERSHIP CABINET
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’m privileged, period. There is no other way to see it after what I have witnessed these last 36 hours. Abby Eisen Goldstein and I were on a 6:30am flight from Warsaw to Tel Aviv this morning. I could count on one hand the number of men on this flight. A Publication of the
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Aron Karabel and Abby Eisen Goldstein from JFNA National Young Leadership Cabinet, visit the Polish border to witness Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country
Over 160 women and children boarded this morning and according to the flight crew most are from Ukraine. Their eyes say everything. They look exhausted and broken. It was also eerily quiet even with a flight filled with children including newborns. Women’s Passover Experience to Focus on Human Trafficking and Victims’ Journeys to Freedom, page 4
It’s hard to imagine that in 2022 we are faced with a global humanitarian crisis ripping families apart and forcing millions of women and children to flee leaving their husbands, fathers and partners behind to defend their homeland. Nobody should have such destructive Chief Prosecutor of Nuremberg Trial to Share His History of Hope and Justice, page 12
power through an unjustified and unprovoked war. Yesterday, on the border near Medyka, we witnessed something that will stay with me and haunt me forever. We watched several women and children walking through the border. The children were holding tattered stuffed animals and multi-color backpacks. We saw elderly in wheel chairs helpless and waiting for assistance to move from one area to the next. At the gates, families were greeted by someone in an animal costume. In a weird and morbid way, it felt like they were crossing the finish line of a marathon with food and supplies waiting for them at the entrance. For some, the travel was several hours and for others it took days if not weeks. They had small suitcases and bags with strollers and some with pets. Some were pushing their luggage in shopping carts. All looked bewildered - for “shit” sake, I was bewildered. I watched family after family walk through a narrow path (about 300 yards long) past hundreds of tents filled with supplies from formula to diapers to water to soup. So many humanitarian organizations, news crews and governmental officials. Not a single person was denied entry - not one. Continued on page 6
Akiva’s Siddur Ceremony Builds Meaningful Connections for Students, page 17
April in the Gordon JCC Galleries, page 25