For two years, Ukraine has withstood the overwhelming force of Russian troops. As the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of the neighboring country approaches on February 24, many seem to be losing faith that the bloody war can still have a positive outcome for Ukraine. The country is struggling to find hope. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews are also wondering what to do.
It's Koen's birthday. For two decades, the Belgian has worked for Christians in Israel (CSI) in Ukraine, supporting Jewish communities, assisting with Aliyah – emigration to Israel – and distributing aid to Holocaust survivors and those in need. But the weather is anything but birthday-like in the war-torn skies. The map showing current air raid alerts is completely red across the country.
Prepared for everything
“Two years ago we said: We hope for the best, but we want to be prepared for anything,” said Koen. He and his team are tirelessly working to deliver aid where it is most needed. “The demand for our food parcels is enormous – not just because it’s winter and people’s gardens aren’t producing anything. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. And for many members of the Jewish communities, this isn’t the first war they’ve experienced.” The team has just packed another 13,000 kilograms of food into bags. These are being delivered to Jewish communities from Sumy in the north to Odessa in the south.
Air raid sirens every day
“We’re holding on so far, thank God. All our people are alive,” says Lisa, head of the Jewish social services organization in Sumy, northern Ukraine. She is responsible for Jewish seniors in a large area along the Russian border; many of them are supported by sponsors from Germany. “We have air raid sirens every day. Thanks to your prayers, we’re holding on – day by day.”
Spring is coming soon
“It’s hard; but you know that yourself from the news,” says Larisa, an employee of the Jewish community in Belya Tserkov. “Our connection with you gives us so much strength. Everyone keeps asking when you’re coming back. It’s amazing how they’re holding on. When I think of Alla…” As a little girl, Alla was handed over to a neighbor at the last moment by her parents, who were being led with her and the other Jews of the town to be shot. “But the woman didn’t take Alla’s little brother. She only just told me that,” says Larisa. “Alla has such severe cancer. But she’s holding on—I don’t know how she does it. ‘Come on, spring will be here soon,’ she says to her daughter. ‘We have to sow the seeds in the garden!’”
Aid for refugees from Cherson
“It helps me to be able to do something,” says CSI employee Alina, who has just returned from Odessa, which is no longer a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of refugees. “We distributed food, including to many who fled Kherson. Getting there is almost impossible; the city is under constant fire. It’s already a difficult time for the locals here. But for the refugees, it’s infinitely harder. I’m thinking of a family who came to the synagogue to pick up a package from us. When they left their hometown of Kherson a year and a half ago, everything had to happen very quickly.” In September 2022, Russian troops withdrew from the Black Sea city of Kherson to the other side of the Dnieper River, but at the same time, the continuous attacks on the city began.
“They didn’t have time to pack anything,” Alina reports. “They left in a rush and had to leave everything behind. Everything they have now in Odessa was given to them by someone. So they live day after day out of packed suitcases, hoping to be able to return one day. Every day they call their friends in Kherson who stayed behind and who know that every day could be their last. We told them about Israel; about the possibility of making Aliyah and building a new life there based on God’s promises from the prophets in the Bible.”
The staff are helping wherever they can. The next few weeks are fully booked with aid deliveries. At the same time, members of the Jewish community are strongly advised to have their paperwork in order in case they need to leave at short notice.
Refuge in God's presence
“We’re trying to buy our time,” says Natalia, who has just finished distributing aid supplies to a newly added Jewish community in the program. “For Holocaust Remembrance Day, we visited all the Holocaust survivors we know in Kyiv. It means so much to them that we haven’t abandoned them.”
For the staff, too, every new day is a new test of faith. “Recently, our capital was attacked so heavily by drones again,” says Natalia. “I stayed in constant contact with my daughter by phone. She could hear the neighbors screaming in fear in the corridor. Then we both turned up worship music at full volume—louder than the sirens. That’s our only refuge—the presence of God.”
A national fast has been declared by all Christian communities in Ukraine for February 23 and 24. “We must guard our hearts,” says Natalia. “I have had the privilege over the past few years of witnessing Germans sincerely repenting 70 years after the Holocaust, which was initiated by Germany. I have seen the children and grandchildren of Wehrmacht soldiers and SS officers weeping at Jewish graves. I have seen true and profound reconciliation. That is what gives me hope now. And we—we must guard our hearts so that they do not become hardened, but remain open to reconciliation when the time comes.”
Let us not tire of supporting our Jewish and Ukrainian brothers and sisters in prayer and helping them wherever we can. Through the "SOS Ukraine" emergency relief fund, we can continue to bring aid and hope to the Jewish communities with your support.
