Ukraine Orphans Escape Rockets in Israel

Stand for Israel  |  May 12, 2023

When war came to Ukraine last year, you might remember the Jewish orphans from the devastated city of Zhytomyr who The Fellowship helped flee to safety, first to the Ukrainian border, and then to new lives in the Holy Land. Now, Jewish Press’ David Israel reports that as terrorist rockets fly from Gaza, the orphans have again been found safety thanks to The Fellowship:

At the height of the war in Ukraine, the children of the Alumim orphanage in the city of Zhytomyr escaped to Israel. They left Ukraine through the Carpathian Mountains to Romania on a voyage that took a week and a half. From there they made Aliyah to Israel with the assistance of the IFCJ and Chabad and settled eventually in a facility in Ashkelon.

Now, after the start of Operation Shield and Arrow, the children were evacuated from Ashkelon to the Ohr Simcha Children’s Home in Kfar Chabad, in central Israel.

Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, the Rabbi of Zhytomyr who has accompanied the children of the orphanage since they made Aliyah from Ukraine, related: “On Tuesday, we woke up to the news about the elimination of the three commanders of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and the missile attacks that were expected on the south of Israel. The situation reminded me of what we experienced on the morning of February 24, 2022, when the war began in Ukraine. We received an announcement that the educational institutions in the south were closing. We decided that we cannot wait until the missile attacks begin. These children have gone through so much hardship and in the last year we have done everything to help them cope with the trauma and surround them with love and attention.”

Moshe Leib, one of the children from Zhytomyr who made Aliyah with the assistance of the IFCJ, [said] “I don’t want any more war.”