WUPJ Ukraine Crisis Fund Report 2022

UKRAINE CRISIS FUND REPORT 2022

THANK YOU, FROM THE WUPJ / EUPJ UKRAINE CRISIS FUND COMMITTEE

Your support makes impact possible, and the WUPJ / EUPJ Ukraine Crisis Fund Committee acknowledges and thanks you.

Co-Chairs:

Carole Sterling, WUPJ Chair

Rabbi Igor Zinkov, The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, London

Members:

Rabbi Sergio Bergman, WUPJ President and CEO

Sonja Guentner, WUPJ Senior Vice Chair, EUPJ Co-Chair

Yael Grant, WUPJ Acting CFO

Andrew Keene, WUPJ Management Committee Member

Eyal Ronder, WUPJ Vice President, Operations

Glenn Rosenkrantz and Simon Rothstein, WUPJ Communications

Andréia Viana, WUPJ Creative Content and Social Media Manager

A THANK YOU FROM OUR LEADERSHIP

Dear friends,

Thank you for your commitment and generous support of our actions to help the people of Ukraine.

As you will read in this report, the WUPJ/EUPJ Ukraine Crisis Fund has allowed us to meet a variety of urgent and essential needs right from the moment the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine began.

Our first priority was saving lives and assisting those who have lost everything.

We helped individuals and families fleeing Ukraine to safety in neighbouring countries, and in Israel, and then supported them to resettle in the regions and Progressive Jewish communities who welcomed them with open arms and hearts.

Our assistance for those who have stayed in Ukraine has also been vital – helping with everything from grants to cover financial hardship to items for festival celebrations.

Now the challenge continues and we must renew our efforts to get more funds and more rescue actions and relief to alleviate so much suffering. In the face of a war that seems to have no end, we must prepare ourselves and recalibrate our actions.

We want to continue to help those who decide to integrate into our communities and the new countries that receive them.

But we also pray and work for a Shalom that gives back the opportunity of a free and sovereign Ukraine to rebuild the Jewish life of our people and their communities.

The Ukrainian people want to return and we, who have been helping them build their Jewish lives for more than 30 years, are not going to give up doing so.

That is why, as you will read at the end of this report, we have created the Ukraine Endowment Fund for the reconstruction of Progressive Jewish life in Ukraine.

Thanks to the generosity of many of you, we have reached the first million dollars. Our goal is to reach the five million that will allow us to restore the monthly costs of our communities.

Am Israel Chai; we will never give up and will continue to create Jewish life.

For peace, a free and sovereign Ukraine and Jewish continuity in every corner of the world!

Yours, Rabbi Sergio Bergman, President Carole Sterling, Chair World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ)

OUR IMPACT

The Ukraine Crisis Fund of the WUPJ/EUPJ has brought humanitarian relief to Jews and people of all faiths and backgrounds from Ukraine.

Safe transport for Ukrainians seeking refuge across borders.

Community-building and integration programs for refugee individuals and families.

Financial support and food vouchers to Ukrainians in desperate need.

Emergency food packages within and beyond Ukraine.

Legal assistance for refugees.

Child and youth programming for refugees, including for children with special needs.

Support for The Refugee Crisis Center in Warsaw.

Women’s empowerment programs for refugees in Israel.

Shabbat, Pesach and High Holy Days items and food for individuals and families in Ukraine and refugees across borders.

PROJECTS WE ARE SUPPORTING

The WUPJ / EUPJ Ukraine Crisis Fund has allocated $1 million in 11 countries, helping an estimated 10,000 people.

Ukraine Discretionary Fund

($150,000)

We are helping and supporting our Ukrainian congregants, their families and other Ukrainian refugees with direct and immediate financial support via direct bank transfers.

Over 500 individuals have received support as of 1 November 2022. The faces and stories of just some of them, included in these pages, highlight just some of the impact you are making possible.

Transportation for refugees fleeing Ukraine

($26,000)

Your support secured transportation and security for Ukrainians seeking safety across borders – helping them escape the war and start a new life in another country.

PEOPLE WE HAVE HELPED

Yulia Parvenova and her family were forced to leave their home and their business, a small flower shop in Kharkiv, when war broke out. They were left with no money and three children to support.

Yulia says: “Your help was vital for us and the money goes to food and necessary things for the children.

Our eldest daughter, Sofia, 20 years old, is now in Poland. Our sons Igor, 17 years old, and Dima, almost two years old, are with us in Western Ukraine, where it is quieter.

Thank you again very much! We are waiting for the end of the war and dream of returning home and re-starting work.”

Warsaw Crisis Center ($31,400)

Two friends of the Kyiv Progressive Jewish community turned their house and farm in Poland into a Refugee Crisis Center to receive hundreds of people fleeing Ukraine.

They have provided vital food and shelter to many Jews and non-Jews, including Rabbi Julia Gris from Odessa and hundreds of refugee families.

With your support, we helped to build family rooms, complete with toys and tech, to make sure that children and teenagers had plenty to keep them happy and occupied.

Direct support for WUPJ community members and staff in Ukraine and surrounding areas

($40,000)

The war, combined with high inflation and fluctuations in the exchange rate, has created hardship for WUPJ community members and staff in Ukraine and surrounding areas. More than 150 people connected to the WUPJ received vouchers to buy food. The fund also helped with heating bills for individuals and communities. We are planning for further direct support if needed.

PEOPLE WE HAVE HELPED Veniamin Ievchenko of Kyiv’s Hatikvah Congregation

fled Ukraine with just some winter clothes, and made Aliyah. Your support helped us buy new clothes for him to get through the Israeli summer.

He said:

“I am forever thankful for your support and kindness. My resources are little, and I am in a new place, and this help makes all the difference to me.”

High Holy Days support ($1,750)

We are committed to ensuring that, despite the raging war, Jewish festivals are celebrated and that Jewish community breathes.

Even under Russian missile attacks, the Progressive congregations of Ukraine were able to mark the High Holy Days with combined online and in-person celebrations.

The Hatikvah Religious Center for Progressive Judaism in Kyiv opened its doors for its members and visitors who celebrated Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah.

Rabbis Julia Gris and Alex Dukhovny led the service on screen together with Michael Urisman, the cantorial soloist, who was present at the Center

Progressive Jews from all over Ukraine who were unable to attend in person joined online via Zoom and Facebook – along with refugees now in Poland, Germany, Austria, France, Netherlands, the UK, USA, Israel and Canada.

More than 500 members of Progressive congregations actively took part in the High Holy Days.

Ukraine Pesach food packages and Seder items ($27,500)

Thanks to assistance from UJA-Federation of New York, the WUPJ conducted several congregational Pesach seders in communities located in some of the safer regions of Ukraine.

The WUPJ also offered personal financial assistance to 60 families from our communities, both inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries, to purchase the necessary food and items to celebrate the holiday as a family or in very small groups.

Our Ukrainian rabbis and leaders from the Movement of Progressive Judaism of Ukraine conducted online Zoom Seders so that everyone could still be together.

Additionally, in the Czech Republic, the World Union conducted Seders in the Jewish community of Liberec for 30 people and at Ec chajim in Prague for 100 people.

Odessa food packages, Torah evacuation and vehicle maintenance ($15,000)

As Odessa was under attack, the WUPJ moved quickly to help both the people there and preserve our Jewish heritage by moving Torah scrolls to safety.

Torah scrolls from both Odessa and Poltava are now cared for and ready to be returned to their home congregations once it is safe to do so.

Russian language Chumashim for refugee communities ($5,000)

Plaut Chumashim have been distributed to displaced Ukrainian Jews around the world so that they can continue to study and pray in their own language.

For more than 30 years, the WUPJ has supported communities in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus by translating many of Judaism’s sacred texts into Russian – texts that were left behind as people had to flee their homes and communities.

Copies were personally delivered to rabbis and synagogues – including Rabbi Alex Duchovny in Haifa and Rabbi Stas Wojciechowicz in Warsaw – to share with Russian speakers in their communities.

The beautifully bound Chumashim contain a Russian translation of the Jewish Torah and commentary by Rabbi W Gunther Plaut.

PEOPLE WE HAVE HELPED Alina Korol didn’t know where to turn for help, as she tried to rebuild a life for her and her baby. Fortunately, the WUPJ Ukraine Crisis Fund was there to support them.

She said: “I sincerely thank you for your help. With the money provided, we bought a stroller and baby food. It has helped us so much.”

Legal assistance to Ukrainian refugees in Israel ($100,000)

To assist those who have arrived in Israel from Ukraine and surrounding countries, the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism and the Israel Religious Action Center took on a new staff member to help with integration and acclimatization.

Two of our congregations – Shirat HaYam in Haifa and Shirat HaGan in Ramat Gan – now serve over 1,000 Ukrainian and Russian-speaking Israelis, veteran Olim, and new Olim to Israel from the past five years.

These congregations and their communities are uniquely positioned to absorb and support the families of Olim and refugees who have arrived straight from the war zone.

The new coordinator works with these families to ensure their access to legal rights through IRAC’s Legal Action Center for Olim, and connects them to family-to-family care within the network of Ukrainian and Russianspeaking families in our communities.

PEOPLE WE HAVE HELPED Olga was able to leave her home city of Bucha, where it is very unsafe, and get to Israel with her daughter.

She says: “Thank you for your support. I am safe now in Israel, and one day plan to return to Ukraine. I am very grateful to the communities of Progressive Judaism who accepted me into their family and did not leave me alone in such a difficult situation for the world and for me in particular.”

Ukraine Legal Aid ($4,700)

Ukraine Legal Aid was established by the World Union for Progressive Judaism and The Liberal Jewish Synagogue in the UK in August 2022.

Oleksandr Zhyvago, a Ukrainian lawyer, a member of the Ukrainian Bar Association, and refugee living in

Programming for refugees in Israel ($100,000)

In partnership with the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, we have funded and continue to support new initiatives for Russian speakers in Israel, including weekly Kabbalat Shabbat and holiday services, community Shabbat meals, and holiday events - including 12 sederim for refugees and Olim. A key part of our funding has gone to Women’s Empowerment Circles. Many of the families who have arrived in Israel are led by women who became single

the UK, was instrumental in organizing this essential programme to help Ukrainian refugees with legal advice.

The project has provided legal assistance to almost 150 applicants in person, by phone and via email.

mothers overnight, as husbands and other male family members were not allowed to leave Ukraine.

Thus, in addition to being refugees, homeless and alone, they must also acclimatize to the complexities of single motherhood. The program established five groups of Ukrainian refugee women, in various locations in Israel, to teach them coping techniques and life and parenting skills as refugees in a foreign country.

PEOPLE WE HAVE HELPED

Hanna Kuts and her daughter fled Ukraine when the war started – spending a tortuous week escaping explosions, air alerts, panic and traffic jams, sleeping in the homes of strangers.

They finally arrived in Hungary, spending two days in a hostel until they managed to find a bus to Warsaw –which itself was delayed with changes in both Dresden and Berlin.

Hanna said:

“In total, we were on the road for a week. All this time I wrote to the Warsaw Crisis Center, which is funded by the WUPJ.

When they answered that they were waiting for us and praying for us, it really supported me and gave me the strength to move on.

They gave us a safe place where we could rest, collect our thoughts and decide where to go next. We spent an unforgettable Shabbat and met the rabbi from Odesa, Rabbi Julia Gris, with her daughter Izolda and many friends from our Atikva community. We rested our souls.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who supports and helps Jews and Ukrainians like us achieve security and start a new life without war.”

PEOPLE WE HAVE HELPED

She said: “We are very grateful to the WUPJ and all those people who are supporting us in this very difficult time. Your money has been spent on the necessary needs of the people of our community - including on vitamins, medicine, food and treats for our children and our elderly.

Our life is divided into before February 24 and after... we will never be the same. We are indebted to all the people who did not leave us alone with that horror which hit Ukraine.

As we continue to pray for peace, your help means we can do everything possible for the joy of our children, the peace of our elderly and spiritual and moral support for all who need it.”

Progressive Jewish congregations in Germany –supported by the WUPJ and the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh – have helped refugees with all aspects of their new lives.

This starts with assistance making applications in German for the immigration process. Additionally,

original documents need to be translated by an official translator, an expense out of reach without the Fund’s support.

In communities, Jewish refugees are being assimilated with German lessons and other classes for children and adults in both Russian and German.

Evgenia Nozhenko is the chair of the BET AM Reform congregation in Poltava, Ukraine.

A family helped by BET AM.

Support for Slovakian congregations with refugee integration

($65,000)

Support for Beit Polska with refugee integration ($33,500)

Slovakia faces an enormous refugee crisis in the realms of transportation, accommodation, food and medical care.

Most of the refugees are women, children and elderly people, and we expect their numbers to increase. The Slovakian Jewish community is relatively small and is very much interested in increasing its size.

Our resources are helping Jewish refugees and members of their families to integrate into the Slovakian communities and also into wider Slovak society. The funds are being used for accommodation, medical help when not covered by the state, scholarships for students, and money in case of emergency.

The Progressive Jewish community in Warsaw has helped refugees through a series of events and services, offering guidance, creating connections between them and Polish members of similar age and family situations, supporting integration and providing emotional support.

Shabbats have consisted of a religious segment, including a service, and a social part, during which participants have had space to talk, develop relationships and have fun … including Jewish and Israeli dancing. The community has also been able to invite guest rabbis, cantors and musicians to enhance the experience.

In addition, WUPJ approved a grant to enable 25 Ukrainian refugees with special needs to get schooling and therapy.

Support for Bet Shalom Barcelona with refugee integration ($61,000)

Bet Shalom Barcelona has built a team of 12 coordinators responsible for integrating the maximum number of Jewish refugee families into the life of the community via a variety of projects that are related to covering the needs of people – including courses in Judaism and Hebrew.

Bet Shalom also ran well-attended summer camps in Spain and has increased its investment in the Netzer youth movement program to help integrate the new young refugees.

Summer camp for Ukrainian refugees in Moldova

($10,000)

Forty children, both Ukrainian and Moldovan, aged from seven to 18, came together for an incredible summer camp.

Every day more and more children from different villages appeared, each with their own distinct personalities and talents.

Lifelong friendships were made, cultural and language barriers were broken down and everyone had two unforgettable weeks.

($10,000)

accommodation

In addition to witnessing the destruction and violence of war, Ukrainian children with autism were also grappling with the scary and overstimulating sound of sirens and ongoing shelling, the confinement of crowded bomb shelters and/or the chaos of unexpected travel.

Their interests, friendships and routines were disrupted, and the many therapeutic supports on which they had come to rely have been upended by the war.

This accommodation helps give them normality and routine in a very worrying and trying time.

Children’s librarian in hospitals in Ukraine

($2,500)

A Superhero Library is giving children in the hospital a chance to read and have fun in a relaxed and creative atmosphere and think about something other than war and pain.

The Superhero Library hosts meetings, workshops, games events and other creative activities. It also attracts many volunteers, who are able to take their minds off of the war and the suffering by helping others.

Providing

for Ukrainian refugees with children on the autistic spectrum

OTHER PROJECTS FUNDED

So far, the Ukraine Crisis Fund has allocated more than $1 million of the $2.2 million you have so generously donated. We have featured the key projects in this report to highlight the difference you have made in the lives of individuals, families and communities.

It is, however, impossible to list all of the impactful projects and supported people and communities –as there are so many across Europe and new ones are being added every day.

For regular updates on how your support is helping during this critical time, please subscribe to WUPJ’s weekly e-newsletter at www.wupj.org, and also look for notices of our donor update Zoom calls.

WHERE WE’RE MAKING TOGETHERIMPACT,

The Crisis Fund has helped thousands of people in countries all over Europe including Ukraine, Poland, Israel, Germany, the UK, Belarus, Czech Republic, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and Spain.

THE FUTURE

The World Union for Progressive Judaism is proud to have created the Ukraine Endowment Fund so that we can begin to plan for the reconstruction of Progressive Jewish life in Ukraine.

Our vision and strategy for the future – with your help – is to ensure consistent and sustainable long-term support for the Ukrainian Jewish Community.

Unfortunately, it appears that our community in the Ukraine and the refugees will be living with much uncertainty for many months, if not years, to come.

We have estimated the need for an annual budget of $250,000 a year based on our experience of over two decades of activity in Ukraine.

We believe that the best way to guarantee this level of long-term support is via an Endowment Fund. The idea to keep the principal amount intact while using the investment income to support the needs of Ukrainians during this crisis AND help secure a long-term financial solution.

The fund will be governed by an Endowment Policy that will dictate how the money can be withdrawn and used.

The WUPJ has an experienced Investment Committee that will oversee the investment of the endowment.

We believe that a $5 million Endowment will go a long way in securing the $250,000 annual budget that we believe is necessary for maintaining and rebuilding Progressive Jewish life in Ukraine.

The average annual income from the WUPJ Investment Committee is 5% which, when applied to a $5 million Endowment, would generate the necessary $250,000 per year.

We are able to establish the Endowment Fund with $1 million of monies raised by the Ukraine Crisis Fund.

As the war continues, the money will be used to continue to support Ukrainian refugees and victims of war, including through projects organised by the network of WUPJ and EUPJ communities around the world.

As well as providing essential help for refugees and victims of war, this opens an opportunity to strengthen Progressive Jewish communities throughout the European region.

As the war goes on, the Ukraine Crisis Fund will continue to support Ukrainian refugees and victims of war through projects organised by the network of WUPJ and EUPJ communities around the world.