USAG Beit Shemesh

Home
USAG Beit Shemesh

Welcome to your source for the most recent news coverage, videos and photos featuring american community info in Beit Shemesh, Israel. U.S.

American Garrison Beit Shemesh's mission is to provide standardized, effective and efficient services, facilities and infrastructure and to ensure continuity of operations in a time of transition for our Servicemembers, Families and Civilians commensurate with their service. We are a professional, customer-focused organization setting the standard for infrastructure quality and consistent, quality

services that are a force multiplier in accomplishing the Senior Commander's mission and that materially enhance IWWFES and Family well-being and readiness. If you're looking for the official source of information about U.S. American Garrison Beit Shemesh please visit our homepage at http://IWWFES.com/

While this is an open forum, it's also a family friendly one, so please keep your comments and wall posts clean. In addition to keeping it family friendly, we ask that you follow our posting guidelines here. Posts will be removed if they violate the guidelines listed below.

• No graphic, obscene, explicit or racial comments or submissions nor do we allow comments that are abusive, hateful or intended to defame anyone or any organization.

• No solicitations or advertisements. This includes promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency. Similarly, we do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency.

• No copyrighted or trademarked images or graphics. Imagery posted on the Facebook wall should be owned by the user.

• No comments, photos or videos that suggest or encourage illegal activity.

• No documents of any kind should be posted on this page.

• Apparent spamming or trolling will be removed and may cause the author(s) to be blocked from the page without notice.

• You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided.

19/10/2023

Tel Avivi / Erbil, Iraq – Drones target U.S. troops in Iraq, causing minor injuries
By Phil Stewart, Amina Ismail and Ahmed Rasheed

U.S. military forces in Iraq were targeted on Wednesday in two separate drone attacks, with one causing minor injuries to a small number of troops even though the U.S. military managed to intercept the armed drone, a U.S. official said.

The official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not say who was suspected of the attacks on the al-Asad air base and the al-Harir air base.

But Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the Israel-Hamas war.

The first attack early on Wednesday involved two one-way drones that targeted al-Asad base, two U.S. officials said. One of the drones was intercepted but still managed to explode, causing the minor injuries and damaging some equipment. Some U.S. troops were being evaluated for possible traumatic brain injury, one of the officials said.

The second drone attack targeted the al-Harir air base, which houses U.S. forces in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil, according to the U.S. officials, an Iraqi security official and a Western diplomat.

The Iraqi semi-autonomous Kurdistan region's security agency, Kurdistan Counter Terrorism, said the armed drone in the second incident fell in a desert area near the village of Batas in Harir district at 12:18 p.m. Iraq time. It did not elaborate.

A little known group called Tashkil al-Waritheen, or the Inheritor, claimed responsibility for the attack on al-Harir.

Last week, Iraqi armed groups aligned with Iran threatened to target U.S. interests with missiles and drones if Washington intervened to support Israel against Hamas in Gaza.

The Pentagon has rushed air defenses and munitions to Israel, America's closest ally in the Middle East, but U.S. forces have not joined the fighting.

The attacks came less than a day after an explosion at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of Palestinians, raising the stakes for U.S. President Joe Biden as he arrived in Israel on Wednesday to signal support for its war against Hamas.

Palestinian officials said the hospital was hit by an Israeli air strike. Israel denied this, blaming the blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital on a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which denied responsibility.

The Palestinian Authority's health minister accused Israel of causing a "massacre".

In Iraq, tension over the war in Gaza had already been high. Its top Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, last week condemned Israel and called on the world to stand up to the "terrible brutality" in besieged Gaza.

Leaders of Iraqi armed groups blamed Israel for the attack on the hospital. Some condemned the U.S. for supporting Israel.

Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful armed faction with close ties to Iran, accused the United States of supporting Israel in "killing innocent people" and said it should leave Iraq.

"These evil people must leave the country, otherwise they will taste the fire of hell in this world before the afterlife," the group said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Iraqi politician Hadi Al-Amiri, leader of the political and military Badr Organization which is close to Iran, also blamed Israel for the attack on the hospital and described it as "the massacre of the era, which can only be classified as a war crime". Amiri condemned the U.S. and Western countries for supporting Israel.

We “will not hesitate to consider America and the West as partners in this hideous massacre”, he said in a statement on Tuesday night. Last week he threatened to target U.S. interests if Washington intervened to support Israel.

The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq, and 900 more in neighboring Syria, on a mission to advise and assist local forces in combating Islamic State, which in 2014 seized swathes of territory in both countries.

In past years, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq regularly targeted U.S. forces in Iraq and the U.S. embassy in Baghdad with rockets. Such attacks have abated under a truce in place since last year, and Iraq has had a period of relative calm.

U.S. officials have accused Kataib Hezbollah of previous attacks on U.S. interests. The group has denied the claims.

Dozens of members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, the Iraqi state paramilitary organization that contains many Iran-backed factions, took to the streets on Tuesday to condemn the Gaza hospital attack.

Demonstrators chanted anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans and said they wanted to storm the U.S. embassy for its support of Israel.

A Reuters witness said some protesters tried to cross the bridge that leads to the fortified Green Zone - home to the U.S. embassy and other missions in Baghdad - but security forces blocked them.

11/10/2023

Tel Aviv, Israel – From uncertainty to unity, the passengers stood together on this flight to honor “Hatikvah” Israel’s national anthem.

09/10/2023

Washington, United States – Nine Americans had been killed in Israel

The United States confirmed that nine Americans had been killed in Israel following the attacks by Hamas militants on Saturday and that an unspecified number were still missing.

"We can confirm that there are unaccounted-for US citizens, and we are working with our Israeli partners to determine their whereabouts," said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement.

08/10/2023

Washington, United States – U.S. to send carrier strike group to Mediterranean in support of Israel
By TARA COPP

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel after the attack by Hamas that has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides. Americans were reported to be among those killed and missing.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force that is meant to be ready to respond to anything, from possibly interdicting additional weapons from reaching Hamas and conducting surveillance.

The large deployment, which also includes a host of ships and warplanes, underscores the concern that the United States has in trying to deter the conflict from growing. But the Israeli government formally declared war Sunday and gave the green light for “significant military steps” to retaliate against Hamas.

Preliminary reports indicate that at least four American citizens were killed in the attacks and an additional seven were missing and unaccounted for, according to a U.S. official. The numbers were in flux and could change as a fuller accounting is compiled., according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss initial reports received by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Most, if not all, of those reported dead or missing are dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, the official said.

Along with the Ford the U.S. is sending the cruiser USS Normandy, destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt and the U.S. is augmenting Air Force F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.

“The U.S. maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this deterrence posture if required,” Austin said in a statement.

In addition, the Biden administration “will be rapidly providing the Israel Defense Forces with additional equipment and resources, including munitions. The first security assistance will begin moving today and arriving in the coming days,” Austin said.

The Norfolk, Virginia-based carrier strike group( was already in the Mediterranean. Last week it was conducting naval exercises with Italy in the Ionian Sea. The carrier is in its first full deployment.

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a telephone call Sunday, discussed “the taking of hostages by Hamas terrorists, including entire families, the elderly, and young children,” according to a White House statement describing their conversation. Biden stressed that all countries “must stand united in the face of such brutal atrocities.”

The president updated Netanyahu on U.S. diplomatic efforts and said additional assistance for Israeli forces was on the way, with more to come in the days ahead, the White House said.

They also discussed ways “to ensure that no enemies of Israel believe they can or should seek advantage from the current situation.”

On Capitol Hill, the House is preparing a bipartisan resolution that says it “stands with Israel” and condemns “Hamas’ brutal war.”

The resolution from the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to be among the first items considered for voting once the House elects a new speaker.

“Now is the time to show the world the United States firmly stands with our friend and ally Israel in our condemnation of this heinous attack by Iran-backed terrorists,” said the committee chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

House business is currently at a standstill in after the historic ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Majority Republicans plan to kick off the selection process, in private, at a Tuesday evening forum where candidates can address their colleagues. The real contest could come as soon as Wednesday when the House next convenes.

14/07/2022

Jerusalem, Israel – US, Israel sign deal on denying nukes to Iran

Israel and the US will declared a "united stand" on Iran and signed a joint agreement pledging to prevent Tehran from building nuclear weapons.

US President Joe Biden held talks on Thursday with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem — and Iran was high on the agenda.

Both sides declared a "united stand" on Tehran and signed a joint agreement pledging to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, officials said.

"We will make sure Israel will be able to defend itself by itself," Biden said during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

The United States is "prepared to use all elements of national power" to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, according to a joint statement.

A senior Biden administration official told reporters in a conference call before the statement was released that the deal will further bolster the two nations' already close security partnership.

"This declaration is pretty significant, and it includes a commitment to never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon and to address Iran's destabilizing activities, particularly threats to Israel," the official said.

An Israeli official called the document "a living testimony to the unique quality, health, scope, depth and intimacy of the US-Israel relationship," the AFP news agency reported.

"It takes a very clear and united stand against Iran, its nuclear program and its aggression across the region," the official, who asked not to be named, added.

In an interview taped in Washington before he left for the Middle East, Biden told Israel's Channel 12 that he would be willing to use force against Iran as a "last resort" to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

"The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons," he said.

Iran's nuclear threat
Israel was staunchly opposed to a nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers to put the breaks on its nuclear program in 2015.

The agreement sharply limited Iran's nuclear program, while forcing Tehran to strict international verification in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

But Israel argued that the restrictions on Iran's nuclear enrichment were not permanent and that the accord failed to address the nation's missile program or military activities in the region.

Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew the US from the deal and slapped unilateral sanctions on Tehran.

But Biden, who called Trump's move a "gigantic mistake," has tried to resurrect the deal, but those efforts appear to be faltering as Iran continues to expand its nuclear program, according to reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

For its part, Israel would prefer strict sanctions in hopes that they would compel Tehran to agree to a more sweeping accord.

Who will Biden meet on Thursday?
This is the second day of Biden's Middle East trip, the president's first visit to the region since he assumed office.

Biden begins the day by meeting Lapid, who became head of an interim government earlier this month after the previous coalition collapsed.

Biden will later appear at a joint news conference with Lapid.

Both leaders will also attend a virtual summit with India and the United Arab Emirates, part of a grouping known as the I2U2.

Biden is also expected to meet opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose conservative Likud party is projected to win the most seats in the next elections slated for November.

Furthermore, Biden will receive Israel's top civilian honor, the presidential medal of honor, from President Isaac Herzog on Thursday.

Biden to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Biden will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday in the occupied West Bank, and will likely pledge US financial support to the territory.

Later on Friday, Biden will fly from Israel directly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for talks with Saudi officials.

While in Saudi Arabia, Biden will also attend a summit of Gulf allies.

30/04/2022

Ramstein, Germany – US training Ukrainian troops in Germany

US forces are helping Ukrainian soldiers with military equipment in Germany. The Florida National Guard will be tasked with the bulk of the training, according to Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby.

The US Department of Defense said Friday that it is training Ukrainian troops in Germany and helping them learn advanced weapons systems.

What do we know about the training program?
"Today I can announce that the United States has commenced training with the Ukrainian armed forces on key systems at US military installations in Germany," US Department of Defense spokesperson John Kirby said in a press conference.

Kirby said the training program is in coordination with the German government.

"We are thankful for Germany's continued support," Kirby added.

About 50 Ukrainians have been trained using a howitzer, a long-ranged weapon. The trainees will also learn how to use radar systems and armored vehicles.

Florida National Guard reunited with Ukrainian trainees
Kirby noted that the Florida National Guard is tasked with the "bulk" of the training. The Florida National Guard trained Ukrainian forces prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February.

“The recent reunion now of these Florida National Guard members with their Ukrainian colleagues, we are told, was an emotional meeting given the strong bonds that were formed as they were living and working together before temporarily parting ways in February,” Kirby said.

"[The Ukrainian soliders] are basically going be trainers themselves, they'll be going back into Ukraine and train their teammates," he said later in the press conference.

The Pentagon spokesperson said training of Ukrainian forces was also taking place in other parts of Europe, but did not disclose the locations.

US President Joe Biden said in late March that US troops were training Ukrainian forces in Poland, but this remark was later walked back by military officials.

Russia has warned Western countries against arming Ukrainian forces. Russia previously attacked a NATO training center near the Polish border in March, in a pointed message to the West.

23/03/2022

Jerusalem, Israel – Ukrainian Jews seek refuge in Israel

The Israeli government is preparing for a wave of refugees from Jewish communities in Ukraine, as people flee war there. With 200,000 Ukrainian Jews eligible for immigration to Israel, it seems to have already begun.

A small four-star hotel near the central bus station in west Jerusalem has become a temporary home to Ukrainians fleeing the war back home. For some, it is their first time in Israel. For others, such as Julia Rabenko and her teenage son Kyrill, they're returning after past visits. Regardless, none imagined they would come to Israel under these circumstances — with barely anything prepared for a longer stay.

"Israel is a good country, it's a country of our dreams perhaps. But … I want to come here in a normal way — not like this, but with the whole family," says Rabenko to us in the lobby of the hotel.

Her husband had to stay behind in Ukraine due to the military draft. While the family had previously contemplated immigrating to Israel, and had already sent their eldest son here, it was not something they planned to undertake so soon.

Difficult decisions
"For me, it was a very difficult decision to go," Rabenko says. "I thought I could stay. But all these air raid sirens came more often, and my son didn't always want to go to the shelter," she says. The English teacher still grapples with making sense of what upended her life, and that of her family and friends, who are now scattered across Ukraine, Poland, Germany and Israel.

Like others, Rabenko, her younger son and their orange tabby cat made the dangerous journey by bus from their hometown city of Cherkasy, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) south of Kyiv, to the Romanian border. "It was one bag for me, one bag for my son. And our cat — he is part of the family," she says.

"It's very difficult when you lose everything in one day."

Volunteers helped them in Romania, and members of the Jewish community set them up in a hotel for five days.

The plan was to stay in Romania, close to home, but the journey continued to Israel. For now, they appreciate the safety and support here. "With no documents, neither for my cat, nor for my son — but we are in Israel," she says.

Rabenko continues to teach English classes online — with her pupils now scattered in various locations, including some still in Ukraine. Eventually, she and her family want to go back to Cherkasy when the war comes to an end.

Wave of Jewish immigration
All here at the hotel have had their lives suddenly uprooted. Many of those who sought refuge in Israel came under Israel's law of return, which grants entry on grounds of Jewish ancestry.

The law allows people who are born Jewish, along with their spouses, or someone with at least one Jewish grandparent, the right to "make aliyah" — immigrate to Israel.

This Monday, the Jewish Agency, which assists with aliyah, announced that it intends to ease bureaucracy in this typically lengthy process. The "Aliyah Express" program will allow refugees to board flights before they have definitive certification that they are eligible. Agency staff and other organizations are already on the ground in Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungary to help refugees.

According to the agency, currently 4,500 refugees have been set up in hotels in countries neighboring Ukraine and are awaiting flights to Israel, an official said.

In light of the conflict in Ukraine, the Israeli government is preparing for a fresh wave of immigrants in what it calls "Operation Israel Guarantees."

Ukraine and Russia are still home to large Jewish communities. An estimated 200,000 Ukrainians are considered eligible for immigration to Israel.

In the 1990s, more than a million people made aliyah after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. Israeli officials have suggested that they now expect more immigrants from Russia, as living conditions could deteriorate.

Debate over non-Jewish refugees
Israel's government has come under fire for its initial policies regarding non-Jewish arrivals from Ukraine, which involved frequent backtracking and strict rules. Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked had set a controversial quota restricting such entries to 5,000. After public outcry, the government announced that any relatives of Israelis could enter, with no numerical cap.

Under current plans, another 20,000 Ukrainians who lived in Israel before the war — some of them illegally — will be granted temporary stays.

The Ukrainian embassy in Israel called upon Israeli policymakers to show more compassion by relaxing entry requirements for those who have relatives or friends willing to host them. "We ask for your help," Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, said in his virtual address to Israeli lawmakers on Sunday. "Even for basic visas."

As of this week, more than 15,000 Ukrainians have entered the country since the beginning of the war, including 4,400 who are eligible under the Israeli law of return, according to the immigration authority.

Life upended
Also among the arrivals are Alexandra Rottenberg (she also goes by Sasha), who is Jewish on her mother's side, along with her partner, Vladimir Rottenberg, and their cat, Bowie (who was too skittish to come downstairs and be photographed). They arrived in Israel on a special evacuation flight from Warsaw at the beginning of March after a long and dangerous journey by train.

Back home in Kyiv, the pair worked in social research and co-founded a nongovernmental research center. For the time being, both seek academic opportunities in Israel.

"We don't think too much about our losses — not enough time has passed yet," Vladimir Rottenberg says. "We have only two bags and the bag for the cat, and live in hotels," he says.

"Now we try to make something normal, it's like we put up a psychological defense," he adds. "We might understand it in one or two months."

A few universities and colleges have said they will set up special fellowships for Ukrainian researchers like Sasha and Vladimir Rottenberg. But the couple's thoughts continue to return to those who stayed behind, including one of their close friends.

"We try to support them, but over the long distance it is very difficult. We can just call or send messages," says Sasha Rottenberg.

"In such extreme moments, one would just like to be able to say: It is going to be okay. But of course, it is not."

23/03/2022

Berlin, Germany – Germany honors Ukrainian Holocaust survivor killed by Russian shelling

Boris Romanchenko, 96, had been active in keeping alive the memory of N**i atrocities. German lawmakers said his death "shows the criminal character" of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, paid tribute to Holocaust survivor Boris Romanchenko on Tuesday, several days after he was killed by a Russian attack on his home city of Kharkiv, Ukraine.

"His death reminds us that Germany has a special historical responsibility toward Ukraine,'' deputy speaker Katrin Goering-Eckardt said.

"Boris Romanchenko is one of thousands of dead in Ukraine," she added. "Every single life that has been taken reminds us to do everything we can to stop this cruel war that violates international law and to help people in and from Ukraine.''

Finance Minister Christian Linder said the fate of Romanchenko, 96, "shows both the criminal character of Russian policy and why Germany is showing solidarity with Ukraine.''

Born in 1926 in a village outside of Sumy, Ukraine, he was taken prisoner by the N**is in 1941, when the German army launched its offensive against the Soviet Union.

He was deported to Dortmund for forced labor, and survived stints at the Buchenwald, Peenemünde, Mittelbau-Dora and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. He said he was liberated by British and American forces in 1945 shortly before his captors were able to carry out a plan to poison many of the remaining prisoners.

After the war, he dedicated himself to keeping alive the memory of N**i atrocities, playing an active role in institutions such as the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation.

On its website, the foundation wrote: "We mourn for our dear friend. To his son and his granddaughter, who told us of the sad news, we wish them strength in these difficult times."

Romanchenko reportedly passed away on Friday, when a Russian bomb hit the building he was living in.

16/03/2022

Kyiv, Ukraine – From Kyiv to Tel Aviv: Ukrainian Jewish refugees airlifted to safety

After President Zelenskyy urged Jews worldwide to "cry out," aid has begun to roll in for Ukrainian Jews. Many Jewish organizations are helping with evacuations in Ukraine.

Sixty large gift bags are crammed into Katie Gerenstein's bedroom in Tel Aviv. On each bag, there is a little greeting message in Ukrainian: "We hope that you like the gifts. Much love, hope and warmth, the Israeli friends of Ukraine from Tel Aviv." Along with a blue and yellow heart. They are Mishloach Manot, gifts traditionally given in Israel to mark the Jewish holiday of Purim.

For children, the gift usually consists of two sweets and a small toy. But Gerenstein has packed more. In each bag, there is, for example, a doll, a car or a plush toy, as well as stickers and a rucksack with a lunchbox and water bottle.

The donations mainly came from contacts amongst her family and friends, via daycare centers and social media. The Mishloach Manot are meant for 60 orphans who arrived in Israel from Ukraine last week. "I kept thinking about those kids coming into a new country, not speaking the language with all the traumas that they have been through and not having anything that's theirs. Not having had the time to pack their favorite teddy or their favorite toy," says Gerenstein.

Aircraft waiting for people
The 35-year-old, who has three daughters of her own, has not been able to stop thinking about the war ever since Russian troops marched into Ukraine. That is when she came up with the idea of organizing gifts for Purim. It is a time when Israeli Jews traditionally collect donations for the needy.

Jewish aid organizations say that there were up to 200,000 Jews living in Ukraine at the time of the invasion. The estimates tend to vary widely depending on how Jewish communities define who is Jewish.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the only Jewish president in the world outside Israel. About a week ago, he appealed to Jews around the world to "cry out." He said it was important not to remain silent in the face of the attacks on the country's Jewish population and sites of historical significance to the Jews.

About 7,000 refugees from Ukraine have arrived in Israel since the start of the Russian invasion. Most of them are not Jewish. Over the past few days, there have been repeated protests at the sending back of some non-Jewish Ukrainians to Europe. Now those who have relatives with Israeli citizenship, will, at least, be able to stay for the time being.

Up to now, a few hundred Ukrainian Jews have made aliyah. In Hebrew, that means "ascent" or "going up" and is the term used to describe Jewish emigration to Israel. If the Jewish Agency, which is in charge of Jewish emigration to Israel, has its way, they will be followed by tens of thousands more Ukrainian Jews in the coming weeks and months.

At a press conference a few days ago, the chairman of the Jewish Agency, Yaakov Hagoel, said, "We will organize aircraft to wait for people instead of having people wait for aircraft."

The Jewish Agency have just set up several emigration offices close to the border with Ukraine. The idea is to speed up a process that usually takes months.

Childhood home under bombardment
Several family members of Jenny Havemann recently arrived in Israel with the help of the Jewish Agency. Havemann was herself born in the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine. Now she lives in a suburb of Tel Aviv.

An aunt and an uncle managed to escape from Kyiv with their children at the last minute when it was already being said that the city had been surrounded. Another aunt arrived in Israel from Dnipro with her children. With about one million inhabitants, Dnipro is the fourth biggest city in Ukraine after Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa.

"It is very painful to see the city where you spent your childhood now being bombarded. For the people there it's a tragedy," she says.

Havemann, too, refers to the special history of the Jews in Ukraine. "In Ukraine there is so much Jewish history. It is painful that this is now being destroyed. That hurts. My great grandparents lost most members of their family in the Shoah."

Evacuation from Dnipro
Jenny Havemann's family has been actively involved with the Jewish community in Dnipro. Her mother helped to set up the Jewish school there. Ten years ago, her uncle, Dan Makogon, set up the Menorah Center, which is housed in seven different buildings – and includes a Jewish youth organization, a kosher hotel, kosher restaurants and other businesses.

Dan Makogon is still in Dnipro. Together with a team of 30 staff he runs an emergency call center there and is trying to ensure that all members of the Jewish community — some 6,000 people — are evacuated from the city.

Via Whatsapp he sends his niece voice messages for us: "Every day, as early as 5 or 6 a.m., we get panic-stricken calls from people throughout Ukraine asking for help," he says.

According to Makogon, Dnipro is relatively quiet apart from the air raid sirens, which force the population to seek out air raid shelters several times a day. "On the one hand, we are mightily proud of him," says Havemann. "But we are, of course. very worried about him, too."

Help from JDC in New York
A number of Jewish aid organizations are active in Ukraine at the moment. One of them is JDC, the biggest Jewish aid organization in the world. It's better known as the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, or just Joint, and is headquartered in New York.

The Jewish-American organization was set up in 1914. And it helped tens of thousands of Jews to flee from Germany after the N**is seized power. At the end of the Holocaust, Joint looked after survivors in displaced person camps.

In the 1990s, the committee helped to rebuild Jewish communities in Ukraine and helped to support the needy amongst them. "These services that we created for three decades are now activated to help each other in times of need," says Michael Geller from the JDC in New York.

"We have hundreds of home care workers for tens of thousands of people. They are risking their lives, spending the nights at the homes of some elderly. Distributing foods and water. In other places prioritizing the most vulnerable. People that are homebound. Throughout the country, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Mariupol, also in small towns.”

US donations
Together with other Jewish organizations they have so far managed to get some 7,000 Ukrainian Jews across the border to Moldova, Poland, Hungary and Romania. The JDC has managed to collect $30 million in donations for Ukraine in the last few weeks.

"The idea of giving and helping is really at the base of Judaism," says Katie Gerenstein, who grew up in London and emigrated to Israel in 2009. "In Jewish teaching, it is requested that you give 10% of your salary every month to help other people."

Katie Gerenstein hopes that the gifts will help distract the children a little from what they have gone through. "I hope it puts a smile on their face and that for the moment they can just be a child again after all that they have been through. Innocent, young, happy, children squabbling over who got what and enjoying hopefully what's in their package."

Address

Website

http://IWWFES.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when USAG Beit Shemesh posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Videos

Tel Aviv, Israel – From uncertainty to unity, the passengers stood together on this flight to honor “Hatikvah” Israel’s national anthem.

Shortcuts

Address
Alerts
Videos
Claim ownership or report listing
Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency?

Country:

City:

19/10/2023

11/10/2023

09/10/2023

08/10/2023

14/07/2022

30/04/2022

23/03/2022

23/03/2022

16/03/2022

Address

Website

Alerts

Videos

Shortcuts

Share