Jewish Orphans Who Fled War in Ukraine Displaced Again by Hamas

The Fellowship  |  October 28, 2023

We already reported on the Ukrainian Jewish orphans who we helped rescue by bringing them home to Israel. Recently, we’ve helped these 100 orphans flee again, as Hamas has threatened their safety since the brutal attack on October 7.

And now, we have a new update from our President and CEO Yael Eckstein, who spoke to the Christian Post—and we learn more on how these children are doing and The Fellowship’s plans to keep them safe throughout this war in Israel:

Eckstein explained to The Christian Post that it became necessary to move the orphans again.

“First, we found a place for them to go, which is to this other orphanage in Central Israel,” she said. “And then, we worked with the home front command to say we wanted to evacuate them. And it took a day until they let us. For the first day, they said, ‘It’s not safe to be on the road.'”

After IFCJ was informed that it was safe to move, the children were evacuated from Ashkelon to the Ohr Simcha Children’s Home as rockets fell from the sky. The ride there took around an hour, but for many of the children, ages 1 to 17, it felt much longer, Eckstein said.

Whether the orphans will remain at the location in Central Israel depends on how long the current war lasts.