The City of Zaporizhzhia has been targeted many times over the past three years. In January, 13 civilians were killed, and 110 injured, when two aerial bombs struck an industrial facility in the city. Last week, another attack destroyed residential buildings including an elderly couple’s home that was reduced to rubble. Miraculously, both the husband and wife, who are in their 60s, escaped without injury. The husband jumped out of the window just minutes before the house exploded. Having lost everything they had in the world, the longtime members of the Jewish community called the rabbi for help; they had nowhere to go and only the clothes on their back. Their only living relative is a daughter, in Israel.
We were there to help the couple from Zaporizhzhia, just as we help thousands of others like them, who endure situations we can only imagine. Visible in the pictures of the rubble is a worn JRNU box that had been filled with Hanukkah supplies. Soon we will distribute boxes with Purim supplies, and then Passover supplies will follow. These packages are a lifeline for people, providing food and holiday supplies to bring some joy and light to their many dark days.
Together we save lives and restore hope.
