Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli joined Chabad of Poland and Mosaic United to launch a summer program for over 200 refugee Jews from Ukraine.
"It is a great privilege to be here with Rabbi Mayer Stambler and Rabbi Sholom Stambler at this summer camp of Chabad in Warsaw, at a time when 81 years ago, a quarter of a million Jews were deported to Treblinka (the Nazi extermination camp). They had no one in the world to save them. They had no one in the world to hear their cries, to hear their shouts, and here we are, 81 years later." Minister Chikli said.
"The conditions are different, Baruch Hashem (Thank God). It's a different challenge, but it's a serious challenge. These are real refugees coming from a real war, with a real need for help. And the fact that we have, not only the State of Israel, but also Chabad, the most devoted slichim (emissaries) of Am Yisrael (the people of Israel), who give their soul and heart for Jewish children wherever they are," he added.
"It is a great honor to be your partner, on behalf of the state of Israel", the minister said to the Rabbis.
As part of the partnership, each organization has committed to either directly funding or fundraising for a portion of the programming costs, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. To contribute towards the Chabad of Poland’s campaign, please visit: www.saveajew.org.
"Today we have launched the Jewish-Ukrainian refugee camp here in Warsaw," said Chabad of Poland Director Rabbi Sholom Ber Stambler. "We are privileged to have such beautiful people who came from the Ukraine, ambitious people, people with hope, deep-thinking people who managed to survive this terrible crisis. Many of those who came today have actually been with us since the beginning of the war, and also during Pesach. We have become a family."
"We will have here two weeks where we energize the body and the soul with some material retreat, as well as with spiritual retreat, with workshops, with learning and studying, and going from strength to strength," said Chabad of Poland Co-Director Rabbi Mayer Stambler.
Rabbi Sholom noted that the efforts to assist the Jewish refugees from Ukraine has entered "phase two" because the world's interest in seeking out ways to help those displaced by the war has waned.
"We see how a big opportunity to open a Jewish kindergarten and a Jewish school which will have a solution for both Polish-Jewish children and Ukrainian Jewish children," he said. "We hope that our brothers and sisters, Am Yisrael all over the world, will show their generosity again and will help us to move on with this important project."
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year and a half ago, Chabad of Poland based in Warsaw has opened its doors to Ukraine’s Jewish community offering refuge, transportation, kosher food, medical aid, financial and material assistance, childcare, educational and social services, communal activities, and administrative and legal aid to tens of thousands displaced by the conflict. Since the start of the war, Chabad in Poland has seen its expenses rise by more than US$2 million. For more information or to contribute to relief efforts, please visit: www.saveajew.org.