Federations Raise $40M for Ukraine Aid & Advocate for Refugee Resettlement

Jewish Federations are proud to announce that we have raised an incredible $40 million in just 1 month to help secure the Jewish community of Ukraine and others facing wartime difficulties.

Funds have been allocated by both The Jewish Federations of North America and individual Federations through our partner agencies The Jewish Agency for Israel, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and World ORT, as well as United Hatzalah, Hillel International, Nefesh B'Nefesh, HIAS, Israel Trauma Coalition, Hadassah Medical Organization, Chabad, and Shma Yisrael.
 
Jewish Federations will announce an updated fundraising goal in the coming days in accordance to the latest and ongoing needs.

This month, Federations launched a series of ongoing aid missions to the Ukraine border to evaluate the developing needs on the ground, show solidarity, meet with refugees and bring those stories back to their local communities.
“Jewish Federations have a clear strategy for saving Jews around the world,” said Jewish Federations President and CEO Eric Fingerhut. “Year in and year out, we support the infrastructure of global rescue and Aliyah. We could not have predicted the war in Ukraine, but we are there to help because we know that maintaining a highly professional, well-funded global 911 is essential.

The skill and expertise we have been witnessing in the relief efforts in Ukraine and in the bordering countries is the result of years of experience, training, relationship building, and fundraising,” Fingerhut continued.

Jewish Federations have placed a specific emphasis on providing immediate relief and direct services to vulnerable populations and maintaining basic service delivery, to the degree possible, including:
  • Providing housing, clothing, medication, cash assistance, mental health services, security, and transportation for refugees fleeing the war and those seeking to make Aliyah.
  • Expediting the rapid Aliyah of those individuals or families who wish to move to Israel and facilitating their absorption on arrival.
  • Ensuring the secure evacuation of individuals under immediate threat or where active hostilities are already taking place.
  • Safeguarding the security of Jewish communal facilities and Jewish individuals, whether in their home communities or temporary accommodations.
     
Funds are going toward sustaining displaced Jews not in camps/shelters with basic needs, such as food, medicine, appliances, and clothing, as well as increasing cash assistance to the elderly, children and vulnerable families who are in financial turmoil and face physical threats.

According to our estimates, our funds have already had impact in the following ways:
  • 6,000+ Jewish Ukrainian refugees have arrived as new olim in Israel
  • 4,130 beds have been rented
  • 23,37,000+ calls have been received at various hotlines
  • Over 70% of the requests are for food, medicines, and evacuation
  • 32,000 refugees have received on-the-ground support in Ukraine
  • Supporting more than 1,000 locations across Ukraine
  • 23,000+ items of humanitarian aid have been collected
  • 8,000+ applications for Aliyah have been received
  • Serving as the lifeline for 40,000 Jewish elderly and 2,500 poor Jewish children
     
In 2021 alone, the Jewish Federations and Network of Independent Communities raised and allocated over $100 million in unrestricted funds for our three partner organizations to power their vital work protecting Jews around the world, caring for the neediest among our people wherever they live, and connecting our communities.
Jewish Federations network of social service agencies, houses of worship, and community centers have been supporting refugees for over a century - beginning with Eastern European Jews fleeing the pogroms, and today those seeking refuge in the U.S. from across the globe.

Jewish Federations are also deeply involved in efforts towards resettlement of Ukrainian refugees in the U.S. and applaud the Biden administration’s announcement that the country will be accepting 100,000 refugees.