Meeting with Zelensky and tens of millions of dollars: how American Jews are helping Ukraine

As part of a special mission, leaders Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) met on June 20 with the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky.

Meeting of mission participants with the First Lady of Ukraine. Photo: Jewish Federations of North America/Anton Kulakowski.

“Russia’s outrageous attack on Ukraine has not yet been stopped. Harrowing bombings of homes, hospitals and schools continue, as well as targeted attacks on the electrical grid and civilian infrastructure to make life miserable for Ukrainians. I believe that Ukrainians know that their incredible courage and determination have found support in all free countries of the world,” JFNA President and CEO Eric Fingerhut said at the meeting.

“Since the beginning of the war, the Jewish Federations have been providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine through our main partners JDC, Sokhnut and World ORT, as well as in cooperation with many other partner organizations, including Chabad, the Israeli Trauma Coalition and IsraAID both in Ukraine and in its neighboring countries . We will continue to support Ukraine,” Fingerhut assured.

During the meeting, President Zelensky expressed gratitude for the support Ukraine has received from the whole world, emphasized the common difficult situation in which Ukraine and Israel find themselves, and also expressed gratitude to the Jewish diaspora for the assistance provided to Ukraine. He expressed hope for the resumption of mutual visits after the end of the war.

Zelensky once again emphasized that Ukraine is at the forefront of the fight for freedom and the right of all peoples to self-determination, and that Ukrainians will never give up this fight and will win.

At the request of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the meeting was closed to the press.

On the subject: An American woman faces life imprisonment in Russia because of the $50 she donated to Ukraine.

The amount of funds raised by JFNA to assist Ukraine exceeded $100 million. They were used to cover emergency operating costs, provide temporary housing and transportation for evacuees, as well as humanitarian assistance, trauma and medical care, and support for new repatriates from Ukraine to Israel.

Jewish federations trained more than 200 volunteers to help refugees from Ukraine living in European countries.

The JFNA became the first North American Jewish organization to send leaders to Kyiv since the war began. They were honored to meet with First Lady Elena Zelenskaya, who called on the leaders of Jewish communities in the USA and Canada to continue to speak out on behalf of Ukraine in their countries.

Eric Fingerhut stated at a meeting with the First Lady of Ukraine that the Jewish community of the United States and Canada, while continuing to fully support the State of Israel at this critical time, will not weaken its support and will fulfill its obligations to the people of Ukraine and the Jewish community in this country.

“As in the case of Israel, a country forced into a protracted war due to an insidious and unprovoked attack, we feel the pain of the Ukrainian people and are ready to convey your message to the world,” Fingerhut assured.

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Elena Zelenskaya, who runs a large charitable organization in Ukraine, noted that Israel inspired her to implement a project to create “resilience centers” that are designed to provide social services and psychological support to Ukrainians.

In 2022 year Jewish Federations of North America in partnership with Elena Zelenskaya, the First Lady of Israel Michal Herzog and the Israeli trauma group Natal, organized a visit of 27 Ukrainian therapists to Israel to study trauma treatment methods as part of a week-long intensive course.

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