At the Romanian-Ukrainian border in Siret, Suceava and Lasi, Ukrainian refugees, most of whom are children and young people, are provided with relief supplies (clothing, food, medicines, everyday necessities) and psychosocial support. In Lasi, this is organized in cooperation with project partners from the Jewish community of internally displaced people from the Donbass in a temporary community center, and in Suceava in cooperation with a local hotel that enables temporary accommodation for the refugees passing through. Further aid measures along the Romanian-Ukrainian
border are planned.

Within the Ukraine, IsraAID Germany is active with aid deliveries and psychosocial support. Since the escalation of the conflict, IsraAID Germany has been able to establish close relationships with people in the Ukrainian government, such as the Deputy Prime Minister, and with the border management. Medicines and medical equipment could be sent to children's hospitals in Chernivtsi and Lviv via a network of Romanian pharmacies initiated by IsraAID and a special supplier in Kyiv. These deliveries have already helped 25,000 children, and more will follow.

In eastern Ukraine, the local partner organization Avalyst provides urgently needed support through a psychosocial hotline. Avalyst is a Ukrainian NGO that was founded by psychologists and social workers even before the war broke out. Their goal was to support children, parents and teachers in schools in dealing with the effects of the conflict that has been going on since 2014. IsraAID Germany organizes training and continuous supervision for the Avalyst helpers. Via Avalyst's well-organized network, IsraAID Germany is also able to organize food deliveries for communities cut off from regular supplies in eastern Ukraine.

Alisa (from the psychological care team IsraAID Germany) reports from an emergency shelter in Suceava, Romania: "Many people come here confused and don't know where to go. Some people have lost their homes to bombs, others have been separated from their spouses and feel lost, still others have relatives and hope that they will find their way and be taken in. In the emergency shelter, people try to support each other and stay calm. Many say they just want to hang out somewhere until the war is over and will come back to Ukraine as soon as they can.”

Peace must be worth more to us again

Help for Refugees in Germany: As a social umbrella organization of Jewish communities, the ZWST supports its members in organizing the following: culturally sensitive, humanitarian aid, i.e., arranging accommodation, kosher food, care and advice from Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking specialists, childcare, arranging medical care. This is strengthened by immense solidarity and helpfulness within the Jewish community. The social department of the ZWST organizes a weekly digital exchange with the social workers of the Jewish communities.

Evacuation buses: The main office of the ZWST in Frankfurt is one of the contact points for refugees. Since the beginning of March, the ZWST has been organizing evacuation buses from Moldova for people who have fled from the Ukraine. In Frankfurt, are received, advised, cared for and referred to the specialist staff of the ZWST. When this issue was published, the ZWST was able to receive thirteen buses with around 400 refugees.

Community emergency program: In order to support the communities and Jewish partner organizations in caring for Jewish people and their relatives seeking protection from the Ukraine, the ZWST organizes a community emergency program, funded by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Alfred Landecker Foundation. This funding measure is intended to ensure that Ukrainian refugees in the Jewish communities are supplied with personal items such as hygiene articles, clothing, medical aids and supplementary food. For this purpose, the ZWST provides the participating member communities and organizations with financial aid from foundation funds.

Migration advice: ZWST has activated its network of migration advisors to support refugees from Ukraine in relation to everyday and bureaucratic challenges. They offer help for adult immigrants at fifteen locations in Germany. Counseling is offered in Russian and Ukrainian, among other languages.

Psychosocial support: The OFEK e.V. counseling center offers Jewish communities and organizations extended psychosocial and psychological support. These include meeting rooms (safe spaces), psychological counseling for refugees and supervision for volunteers. https://ofek-beratung.de

The EU sanctions against Russia meant that recipients of Russian pensions receiving basic social security were also hit financially. In talks with the federal government, the Central Council and the ZWST succeeded in finding a solution that is intended to counteract the financial disadvantages of this target group. The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has instructed the social welfare agencies to recalculate the basic security accordingly. "If the pension entitlements can no longer be realised, the current notifications must be corrected (...). From the point of view of the BMAS, the top priority is a pragmatic and benevolent handling of the cases, which initially ensures the livelihood of
the people concerned.

Aron Schuster, director of the ZWST: “Peace in Europe is no longer a matter of course. Peace must be worth more to us again. International solidarity among democracies and resource independence from authoritarian states have their price, which we all have to bear. It is to be hoped that the overwhelming willingness to help in Germany will not remain a
short-term phenomenon.”