Eastern Europe
As the international community focuses on the Ukraine-Russia crisis in the U.N. General Assembly, U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Mills is critical of the diplomatic time and energy that monthly meetings on the Israeli-Palestinian file take up at the Security Council.
“There are no bomb shelters, organized information or help from the government like we are used to in Israel,” said Inna Markovitch, wife of Kyiv’s chief rabbi. “People are being advised to go to metro stations which are deep underground, but we live 20 minutes away from the closest metro station.”
Members prepare food supplies, accommodations and emergency medical care for those fleeing the emerging war zone.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that Israeli aid workers are positioned at key Ukrainian border crossings to help transfer citizens out of the country.
Addressing the situation in Ukraine, Herzog expressed his “great sorrow and concern” and reiterated Israel’s support for the country’s territorial integrity,
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a “special military operation,” threatening “consequences that you never have had before in your history” should any nation intervene • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared martial law.
On Monday, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Leadership Mission hosted a panel bringing together several nations’ new ambassadors to Israel, who have been instrumental in the Abraham Accords’ development.
Chief Rabbi Yaakov Bleich told JNS that the Jews “are part of the general community. What’s good for Ukraine is good for the Jews of Ukraine. What’s bad for Ukraine is bad for the Jews of Ukraine.”
Embassy officials are working to make sure that Israelis in the country will be able to flee to Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova and Hungary.
The United Kingdom will “immediately” institute sanctions to “target Russian economic interests as hard as we can,” says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Aryeh Schwartz says Donetsk’s 5,000-strong Jewish community is trying to remain calm, despite the tense situation.
“We are very happy to have the opportunity to live in Israel,” said new immigrant Yana Koblenko.
