IFC with supplies for the winter
IFC with supplies for the winterIFCJ

As Ukraine and Russia approach nine months since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the impact on the civilian population continues to rise, particularly as the harsh winter months get underway.

In a recent survey conducted by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) among Ukrainian Jews, 97% of those surveyed expect difficulties in heating their homes due to financial and other constraints. Close to three-quarters (73%) of those surveyed expect to have to choose between food purchases and heating their homes. Fifty-six percent (56%) answered that they do not believe they have enough warm clothing to survive the cold weather, while 47% admitted to knowing at least one person who likely does not have a way to heat their home in the freezing Ukrainian temperatures.

The survey was conducted among 600 current and former residents of Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv, Dnipro, Chernihiv, Zhitomir, Cherkasy, and more, via phone and written questionnaires.

In response to the growing need, the IFCJ announced that they will be transferring $6.5 million US dollars of assistance to organizations working on the ground with the local Jewish communities.

The financial support will go to provide food and medicine supplies for tens of thousands of elderly and children, alongside hot meals, space heaters, and other means of staying warm in the cold weather in Ukraine, and food and supplies for refugees in neighboring countries.

Since the outbreak of the war, IFCJ has been instrumental in Ukraine for the evacuation of members of the Jewish community, providing food, medicine, and supplies, as well as a establishing a support and aid hotline. IFCJ has distributed $23 million dollars in emergency support for the Jewish community in Ukraine, as well as the facilitated the arrival of 4,500 new immigrants to Israel. Including additional aid and funding to support those in FSU countries, the IFCJ has contributed over $30 million since the outbreak of the war.

For 30 years, the IFCJ has supported Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union and surrounding countries during times of need, through direct funding to local-based organizations including the Joint, Chabad’s network of emissaries, and their Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU).

“Since the outbreak of the war, the IFCJ, through the dedicated work of our partners on the ground, has been actively helping the Jewish communities in Ukraine – those who have remained and those who have chosen to immigrate to Israel through the immigration service we set up in Kishinev,” said Yael Eckstein, President of the IFCJ.

“In light of this survey’s findings, and with the help of our more than 600,000 dedicated donors, we have every hope that the additional support will help the local Jewish community prepare and cope with the cold winter months ahead.”

“Thanks to the partnership with IFCJ, and the many volunteers who work tirelessly in the field, no family or elderly Jewish resident will be left to fend for themselves this winter,” said Shlomi Peles, CEO of JRNU.