Yechiel,

I am in Georgia for a brief and intense field visit. Quite honestly, I am overwhelmed by the rescue and relief efforts that have been undertaken here. Literally under fire, Jews have been rescued from Gori,Tschinvali and the surrounding villages and have been brought to safety in Tbilisi where they are receiving urgently needed relief.

Yesterday, JDC was somehow able to get through Russian roadblocks to Gori where 27 elderly Jews remain behind the lines. We were able to bring medicines, food, water, cooking fuel, and hygienic supplies. Upon return, there was a rather tense moment with the Ossetia militiamen yet, thankfully, all ended without major incident.

Yesterday, JDC was somehow able to get through Russian roadblocks to Gori where 27 elderly Jews remain behind the lines. We were able to bring medicines, food, water, cooking fuel, and hygienic supplies. Upon return, there was a rather tense moment with the Ossetia militiamen yet, thankfully, all ended without major incident.

Earlier today, I danced and sang with children who, only a week ago, were trapped under fire -- they are being cared for thanks to our IFCJ-JDC Partnership for Children in the Former Soviet Union.

I then had lunch with elderly Jews who have been rescued and cared for thanks to the great support that IFCJ has provided to these most vulnerable Jews in the world.

Yechiel, words cannot adequately describe the great mitzvah that you have done here. We are blessed to be your partners in this life-saving and relief operation.

B'vracha,

Alan

The following update was sent by Steve Schwager, CEO of the JDC:

At the end of last week, I received the following report from Alan Gill, who was on assignment in Georgia and I would like to share it with you.

Today we traveled 70km from Tbilisi, through the Russian army lines, to Gori as part of a small Georgian Red Cross convoy. Our mission was to deliver humanitarian supplies for the 27 Jews remaining there and to evacuate a gravely ill elderly woman. Special permission for our journey had been secured through diplomatic channels.

We crossed a number of Russian army checkpoints and the aftermath of battles was evident—bombed out buildings, vehicles, and tanks. The streets were nearly empty as people fear the Ossetia militiamen who roam the city.

We met up with International Red Cross officials (in, of all places, Stalin Square) and quickly unloaded our humanitarian supplies, most importantly medicines that are direly needed in Gori. JDC and Hesed staff had worked throughout the night to secure and pack the supplies.

An old woman, very fragile and deathly ill, was taken from the Gori hospital and we gently transferred her, on her hospital bed mattress, into one of our two JDC vans, which we converted on the spot into a makeshift ambulance.

Our goal was to return as quickly as possible through the Russian checkpoints to a hospital for the elderly in Tbilisi, where the woman could receive intensive and specialized medical care. Medical personnel accompanied us, led by two Jewish physicians, to care for her en route to Tbilisi.

Our JDC representative in Georgia, Sergey Vlasov, directed today's operation. Shauli Dritter, Yitzhak Averbuch, and Amir Ben-Zvi, who have been here with Sergey from the onset of JDC's emergency operations, rounded out the JDC field team. It was a true privilege to join them today.

We are now sitting quietly over coffee. We remind ourselves that, when we enter the JDC lobby in Israel, we see the quote from the Midrash Raba that serves as our daily compass: "He who saves one life, it is as if he has saved the entire world."