Diaspora Affairs Minister Dr. Nachman Shai and Culture and Sports Minister Chili Tropper spoke this morning with Elizaveta Sherstuk to congratulate her for having been selected to light the Diaspora torch at the national Independence Day torch lighting ceremony this year.
Elizaveta was selected for the honor in recognition of her efforts coordinating the evacuation of some 150 members of the Jewish community of the Ukrainian city of Sumy during the current war.
The honor also recognizes Elizaveta’s work of over two decades for Sumy’s Jewish community at a the Hesed Haim community center run by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).
“We decided to recommend Elizabeth, not only because of her work as an individual, but also because she represents the JDC and the many Jewish and Israeli organizations which have worked to help the Ukrainian people and the Jewish community in Ukraine during this war,” Minister Shai said during the call.
“We have a human responsibility to help to all people in distress, and as the Jewish people, we have an even greater responsibility to assist, help and ensure the well-being of people living in the most difficult of circumstances.”
Minister of Culture and Sport Chili Tropper said: "Your work year round as well as your efforts during this awful war in which you returned to Sumy and saved the lives of many Jews, and provided them with help in the most difficult of times, is heart-warming and praiseworthy."
“One of the special things about the Jewish people is its sense of mutual responsibility, and therefore the home of the Jewish people, the State of Israel, wants to recognize and thank you on Independence Day for your work for the Jews of Ukraine.”
The Independence Day torch lighting ceremony officially launches the celebrations every year for Independence Day.
Twelve torches are lit by 12 torch bearers, including one by a Jew from the Diaspora in recognition of their work for the global Jewish people.
Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February, the city of Sumy was one of the first cities to be attacked, and suffered from heavy bombing and artillery strikes. Elizaveta led efforts to purchase and deliver food to elderly and disabled members of the Jewish community through the JDC’s Hesed Haim center where she works.
When a humanitarian corridor in Sumy was opened, Sherstuk took the initiative to organize a complex logistical operation to evacuate 150 elderly and disabled members of the Jewish community from the city and transport them to safe havens.