Although we can’t stop the least we could do is help those in need

Dear Friends,
Jewish Communities in Ukraine are on the frontline. Our brothers and sisters there
are danger and face an uncertain future. They need your help. Urgently.
The Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine is doing all it can, working night
and day to help the 180 communities it serves.
We are asked to help those in need. It is in our Jewish DNA to do so. Thankfully and
rarely are we asked to help Jews stuck in a warzone. But today is such a time.
I ask you humbly and gratefully to dig deep. To give all that you can to help the
Federation, in this their time of greatest need.
Know that any contribution given will go directly to four key areas.
1. Urgent kosher food packages to feed Jewish families
2. Providing medicines for those who are stuck at home and cannot get
medical help
3. Protecting Jewish Institutions and individual Jewish properties from
harm.
4. Helping those Jews who wish to escape Ukraine to do so
Thank you dear friends from the bottom of our hearts for helping Jews in need in
Ukraine.
You can do so by clicking on the link below:
I also ask you to share this link as far and wide as possible, let us do all we can to
help
. Yours gratefully,
Rabbi Menachem Margolin
Chairman.

Additional Articles

Iran vs. Israel. Assessing the global implications

Our EIPA colleagues had a successful emergency special briefing on the following topic: Iran vs. Israel. Assessing the global implications. 

The escalating hostilities between Iran and Israel are sending shockwaves across the globe, as Arab countries join forces to intercept Iranian UAVs and cruise missiles. This unprecedented collaboration represents a seismic shift in regional power dynamics, illuminating a united front against Iran’s belligerent agenda. 

The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated, underscoring the critical necessity for advanced military capabilities and expert analysis to confront these volatile geopolitical complexities head-on. Immediate action is imperative to mitigate the looming threat posed by Iran’s aggressive posture.

Meet our esteemed experts:

  • Jonathan Spyer: A British-Israeli analyst and Director of Research at the Middle East Forum. With extensive experience in Middle Eastern affairs, he serves as the Editor of Middle East Quarterly magazine and contributes as a columnist for The Jerusalem Post.
  • Beni Sabti: An Iran Program Researcher at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and coordinator of the INSS podcast “Voices from Iran”. Born in Iran, Sabti offers unique insights, having served in the IDF and specializing in Iranian culture and media.

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The European Jewish Association is a prominent and influential organisation dedicated to representing, advocating for, and fostering the interests of the Jewish community across Europe. Founded on unity, tolerance, and inclusivity principles, the EJA bridges diverse Jewish communities and European societies.

#BringThemHomeNow #NeverAgainIsNow #NotOnMyWatch

Linkedin: @european-jewish-association

Instagram: @ejassociation

Facebook: @ejassociation

X: @EJAssociation

 

Last survivor of massacre reveals the horror of Babyn Yar

The massacre at Babyn Yar was remembered by community leaders on Tuesday at the site near Kiev where more than 33,000 Jews were murdered in 1941.
The chief rabbi of the Netherlands, Binyomin Jacobs spoke, reading the kaddish.
The assembled dignitaries bowed and clasped their hands in otherwise silent mourning, standing entirely still despite the minus-eight cold.
Earlier, an Israeli man who is thought to be the last survivor of Babyn Yar, Michael Sidko, spoke by video link to delegates of the European Jewish Association symposium in Kiev’s Hilton.
Mr Sidko was six years old when a neighbour reported his family to the Gestapo three times as being Jewish, and they were arrested and brought to Babyn Yar.
The family were directed to “the pit” where Nazi officers supervised the killings.
As his mother held her baby son Volodya in her arms, his three-year-old sister Clara walked beside tugging at her skirt, and he and his older brother Grisha brought up the rear.
Clara ran up to Mr Sidko, he said, and asked to be carried in his arms. A policeman hit the girl in the head, knocking her to the ground.
He stamped on her chest until she stopped breathing. Mr Sidko’s mother saw this and fainted, dropping Volodya.
The policeman stamped on Volodya until he was dead.
Mr Sidko’s mother came round and screamed. She was shot, and all three bodes were hauled by the legs thrown into the pit.
The two brothers were selected for medical testing or forced labour and so permitted to live, Mr Sidko said, before a Russian or Ukrainian guard allowed them to run away.
“Hitler’s greatest mistake was making Auschwitz,” said Father Patrick of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, because the camp became evidence of Nazi crimes against humanity.
But at Babyn Yar there was “no train, no railway, just a mass grave”.
Mr Sidko long refused to talk about the massacre or even mention his Jewish identity to even his own children.
It was only in 2000 that he told his children they were Jewish and the family made aliyah.
“People should study history,” he added.“Students should be taught to love not hate.”
https://www.thejc.com/news/world/last-survivor-of-massacre-reveals-the-horror-of-babyn-yar-rHBFu0qobRGTTFoyk3GRm

IL SIMPOSIO A BABYN YAR: “ACCETTARE LE SFIDE DEL FUTURO SENZA DIMENTICARE LA MEMORIA DEL PASSATO”

Guardare al futuro, alla lotta all’antisemitismo, senza dimenticare la storia, specialmente la Shoah e i suoi massacri. La memoria può dunque diventare un punto di partenza per riflettere anche sul futuro e sul presente dell’ebraismo europeo. Queste le premesse con la quale è stato aperto il simposio, organizzato dall’European Jewish Association, dai partner del Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center e della Federazione delle Comunità Ebraiche dell’Ucraina, in occasione della Giornata della Memoria dedicata al massacro di Babyn Yar avvenuto a Kiev.

Tra il 29 e il 30 settembre del 1941, un reparto speciale Einsatzgruppe tedesco, assistito da due battaglioni del reggimento di polizia sud e polizia ausiliaria Ucraina, senza alcuna resistenza da parte della popolazione locale, uccisero all’interno del burrone Babi Yar, situato nel nord-ovest di Kiev, circa 33 771 ebrei. Il Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center è stato creato dal decreto del presidente ucraino Petro Poroshenko il 20 ottobre 2017. Con questo l’Ucraina proponeva un nuovo approccio alla conservazione della memoria storica di quei tragici eventi. “L’Ucraina è il quarto paese per numero che sono state annoverate tra coloro che furono “Giusti tra le nazioni”. Il parlamento ucraino ha recentemente adottato una legge per combattere e prevenire l’antisemitismo nel paese e per commemorare la Shoah. La memoria è l’unico modo per combattere l’antisemitismo – ha detto nel corso della conferenza il Presidente del parlamento ucraino, Ruslan Stefanchuk- Le atrocità sono avvenute spesso perché la gente è rimasta in silenzio a causa della paura, dell’indifferenza e dell’egoismo. Lo studio della Shoah oggi è di particolare importanza per il popolo ucraino.”

Una delegazione di circa cento ministri, parlamentari, senatori, ambasciatori e giornalisti di tutta Europa riuniti in Ucraina. Due giorni intensi di seminario volti ad analizzare l’emergenza dilagante del nuovo risveglio dell’antisemitismo. Un momento per riunirsi, confrontarsi e discutere, ma soprattutto per tentare di accogliere la sfida di combattere l’antisemitismo in atto in Europa. Non nascondersi, ma affrontare il passato con un rinnovato senso di pragmatismo, trovando strategie per fronteggiare l’odio antiebraico di oggi, in tutte le sue forme.

Babyn Yar: una vergognosa pagina della storia, per anni nascosta. Al termine del seminario la delegazione si è recata nel luogo dove furono trucidati milioni di innocenti per una visita al centro Babyn Yar seguita da una cerimonia.  Il memoriale, in seguito a moltissimi sforzi per commemorare le sue vittime, ha trovato la sua ubicazione, cinque anni fa nello stesso luogo dove avvenne la tragedia.

Ad intervenire, nel corso della serata, anche il Presidente del consiglio del Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center Natan Sharansky. Sharansky, nel suo videomessaggio, ha sottolineato come le autorità sovietiche abbiano tentato insabbiare l’accaduto cancellando ogni ricordo del massacro avvenuto in quel burrone. “Una commemorazione importante non solo per le vittime e per onorare la loro memoria- ha aggiunto Sharansky -ma anche per garantire che le lezioni della storia vengano apprese e ricordate nell’era in cui viviamo oggi”.

“Sono nato pochi anni dopo la Shoah, sono cresciuto in Ucraina tra i campi di sterminio, eppure non ne sapevamo nulla – spiega al pubblico Sharansky – Ecco perché oggi è così importante che il Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, che ho l’onore di presiedere, stia facendo grandi sforzi per trasformare questa “grande tomba della Shoah” in un grande museo con il suo centro di ricerca e studio.  Stiamo facendo tutto questo collaborando strettamente con il governo ucraino.”

https://www.shalom.it/blog/orizzonte-europa-bc251/il-simposio-a-babyn-yar-a-accettare-le-sfide-del-futuro-senza-dimenticare-la-memoria-del-passatoa-b1109801?fbclid=IwAR1g9_70Nyjy_rku4MgCIqlbM2bCewRz0XU2N9KhGFiZHvwhnQamV45wETY

European Jewish Association to petition Holocaust bill at Polish court

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