140 Olim Land in Israel on Latest Fellowship Freedom Flight

The Fellowship  |  December 28, 2016

The latest Fellowship Freedom Flight landed in Israel yesterday morning, bringing 140 Ukrainian Jews out of chaos and war to their historic and biblical homeland. The Jerusalem Post’s Tamara Zieve reports on the new olim (immigrants) and their aliyah (immigration to Israel):

IFCJ swiftly expanded its aliya operation to include Jews from secure areas of Ukraine, as well as from some 20 countries around the world. The program provides the olim with guidance before and after aliya, in addition to financial and social support to help them integrate into their new country. This year it has brought over a total of 2,223 Ukrainian olim to Israel.

Jewish refugees from the Donbass region still comprise a significant portion of those headed to Israel from Ukraine.

Liubov and Alexey Jashta are one such couple. They are from an area of Donetsk battered by violence since the outbreak of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and have subsequently been driven out of their country. They told the Post hours before their aliya – as they took part in a preparatory IFCJ seminar about life in Israel – that they did not feel safe in their home. In addition, the war hit their economic security.

Both of them lost their jobs at a local factory, along with many of their colleagues.

The Jashtas received aid from an IFCJ-funded charitable organization called Chesed, which provided them with medicine and food at a time when the shelves in the stores were empty…