From Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Stephen Wise Temple:
| Like many of our congregants, the Wise temple and school staff watched in horror as Russian forces invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine last week. For many, it brought back echoes of 1938, when Adolf Hitler annexed the Sudetenland under a similar pretense; as well, many of us remembered our own family members fleeing the region amidst fear and terror. Many of you have reached out wondering what we can do. We have created a resource page for those in our community looking to help our fellow Jews and others in Ukraine, for those looking to learn more about the crisis, and for parents who want to find the right way to discuss these events with their children. If you have family currently in the region, we hope you will reach out to our clergy for pastoral and other support; we keep them in our prayers for peace and safety. In addition, Rabbi Yoshi will be facilitating two upcoming webinars with experts in international relations and the Russia-Ukraine relationship. Participants will have the opportunity to submit questions. Conversations About Ukraine: Special Wise Webinars Rabbi Yoshi will be facilitating two upcoming webinars with experts in international relations and the Russia-Ukraine relationship. Participants will have the opportunity to submit and ask questions. WEBINAR: Conversations About Ukraine: Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and the Honorable Ambassador Gary Grappo Thursday, March 3 at 6 p.m. | Register Former Ambassador Gary Grappo served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and Minister Counselor of the United States Mission in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before a posting as the United States Ambassador to Oman. He is currently the Vice President in Charge of External Relations Vice Presidency Unit for the Global Bank Disaster Risk Reduction and Reconstruction Fund, and is an adjunct faculty member at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. WEBINAR: Conversations About Ukraine: Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback and Professor Kathryn Stoner, Ph.D. Wednesday, March 9 at 5:30 p.m. | Register A senior fellow at the Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Kathryn Stoner is also the Mosbacher Director of Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. With a long history of published scholarship on both Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, she has served on the faculty of Princeton and Columbia. Her books include “Resisting the State: Reform and Retrenchment in Post-Soviet Russia” (2006) and “Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order” (2017). For those of you with family in the region, please reach out to us at letsconnect@wisela.org if we can be of pastoral or other support. |
Read Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback‘s article in The Forward: “Jewish history is repeating itself in Ukraine. This time, we must fight Putin back“
Ways to help
IsraAID Emergency Response Team
IsraAID is an international non-governmental humanitarian aid organization based in Israel. It is deploying an emergency team to Moldova, which saw more than 15,800 Ukrainian refugees crossing the countries’ shared border within the first 24 hours after the Russian invasion. IsraAID’s team will provide urgent relief, psychological first aid, and conduct ongoing assessments to prepare for additional responses as the situation evolves.
IsraAID has extensive experience working with refugees all around the globe. extensively with refugees and displaced populations, working in emergency and long-term development settings in more than 50 countries around the globe since it was founded in 2001.
Any funds not utilized as part of this response will be used as part of IsraAID’s Emergency Response Fund. DONATE TO ISRAAID
Assisting Refugees
HIAS, which is the oldest refugee resettlement organization in the United States, is accepting emergency donations that can be made as either one-time or recurring gifts. HIAS is responding to the crisis with emergency humanitarian assistance to the thousands displaced by the Russian invasion.
JCC Krakow
The Jewish Community Center of Krakow is actively housing Ukrainians fleeing the war. JCC Krakow is also providing food, clothing, medicine, sanitary products, psychological counseling, and legal aid to those escaping to Poland.
Resources for Learners
Our Wise community includes not just our temple families, but our students, as well as the teens in our youth programs. On this page, you will find helpful resources on how to talk to your children about war and conflict, and about what is happening in Ukraine.
How to Talk With Students About the Russia-Ukraine War
How to Talk To Your Kids About the Russia-Ukraine Crisis
Resources for Educators, Families to Discuss the Invasion of Ukraine with Students
Kids Britannica – All About Ukraine
Kids Briannica – All About Russia
Promoting Compassion and Acceptance in Crisis
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