Dear friends,

On behalf of the Jewish community of Ukraine, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to share what is happening in our country today.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Ms. Gustі Yehoshua-Braverman, Yaniv Nachmias, and Ori Leiser for the support that the Department of Irgoon and Connection with Israelis Abroad (WZO) has been providing us for many years.

My name is Olena Zaslavska, and for more than seven years I have served as the Executive Director of the Zionist Federation of Ukraine.

During this time, we have launched more than a dozen major programs and projects dedicated to the study of Israel’s history, the Hebrew language, the revival of Yiddish, and academic Jewish studies. In May 2023, we are planning to hold the second “Alef-Bet. Zionism” conference, this time dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel.

The Zionist Federation of Ukraine is an active and independent organization.

As you know, Ukraine has been at war for nine years, since 2014. At that time, parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, came under Russian occupation.

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

For a month and a half, Russian troops stood near Kyiv, and we did not know how this confrontation would end.

Most Jewish organizations in Ukraine immediately shifted to operating under wartime conditions.

For many years before the war, professional monitoring showed that Ukraine had one of the lowest levels of antisemitism in Europe.

Today, manifestations of antisemitism are virtually nonexistent.

Our world and our society have not been divided along national lines, but rather between those who resist Russian aggression and those who support it. At the same time, those who support it are mostly not in Ukraine.

In our new reality, nationality has ceased to matter.

Today, many members of the Jewish community are defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Ukrainian army. If they are not directly on the front line, they still have the opportunity to observe Jewish holidays, and Jewish organizations have been able to deliver matzah to military units.

Volunteerism.

Today, it is difficult to find a person in Ukraine who is not helping the army or those affected by the Russian invasion.

It feels as though the entire country is working toward our victory. This is not coercion – it is an inner need of each of us: to defend our country’s independence and to be useful to our nation. I believe that the citizens of Israel understand this better than anyone.

Jewish organizations in Ukraine, including our own – the Zionist Federation of Ukraine – have not stood aside.

From the first days after the invasion, for several months we worked closely with other Jewish and non-Jewish organizations to help evacuate families from areas where active fighting was taking place. People evacuated to the western regions of Ukraine or abroad.

In October 2022, the Zionist Federation implemented the “Circle of Hope” project, which primarily involved mothers who lost their sons on the battlefield, as well as widows.

Since November 2022, in cooperation with the JReady platform of the Jewish Agency for Israel (Sokhnut) and the Israel Trauma Coalition, we have launched a project called “Trauma Psychology – The Israeli Experience.” This is a large-scale program running throughout 2023, aimed at improving the qualifications of Ukrainian psychologists and social workers.

Despite martial law, the Zionist Federation of Ukraine has not suspended any of its educational projects.

Today, there is strong interest in Ukraine in studying the history of Israel, as many people see parallels in our countries’ struggles for independence.

We hold online meetings and discussions, inviting both Ukrainian and Israeli historians, analysts, and journalists, and these events are very popular.

In addition, our conversational Hebrew and Yiddish clubs have continued their work, as has our academic program on the history and culture of Eastern European Jews, which is now being carried out in cooperation with the A. Yu. Krymskyi Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

I live in Kyiv. Air raid sirens sound in the city almost every day.

The situation is much more difficult in Zaporizhzhia, Nikopol, Mykolaiv, and Dnipro, and heavy fighting continues along the entire front line.

Taking this opportunity, I call on Jewish organizations around the world to support Ukraine. This support can take many forms – financial, humanitarian, or educational.

Unfortunately, we understand that it may take a long time before the war ends.

But despite this, we do not stop – we continue our work, remain optimistic, and believe in our Victory, which will surely come.

Dear friends,
Thank you for your attention. I am ready to answer your questions.

We will definitely win.

Glory to Ukraine!