Israeli and Jewish organizations continued to stream aid and financial support to refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as more than 368,000 Ukrainian refugees have crossed into neighboring countries, half of them to Poland, and many to Hungary, Moldova, and Romania.
Members of United Hatzalah’s humanitarian relief delegation in Moldova, who arrived in Kishinev on Sunday, helped Jewish refugees celebrate their weddings. The 15 members of the organization’s initial medical and humanitarian relief mission to the region, including 12 Israelis and three Americans, spent the evening assisting displaced brides and grooms to celebrate their new lives.
The delegation was “enthusiastically received by members of the Jewish community in the city,” United Hatzalah reported.
Yossi Kletzky, the Logistics Coordinator for United Hatzalah and a member of the relief delegation, was honored with reciting one of the seven blessings at one of the weddings, along with EMT Yechiel Gurfein, team leader David Krispel and other members of the delegation.
“We traveled a long way to get here, by air and by land, in order to provide medical assistance and humanitarian relief to the refugees seeking shelter in Moldova,” Kletzky said. “We found ourselves among members of the Kishinev community and well as many displaced Jewish refugees who were so happy to see that we came for them from Israel to help them.”
Gurfein said he thinks that bringing joy to newlywed Jewish couples is “a major part of our mission. To remind everyone that all of Israel is responsible for one another and that we are all brothers, and that no matter what, no one is ever alone, no matter what they are going through. when we were given the opportunity to bring joy to a The honor was all ours to rejoice with brides and grooms on their happy day.”
IsraAid’s Emergency Response Team arrived in Moldova to begin supporting Ukrainian refugees. Over 30,000 Ukrainians are estimated to have crossed the Moldavian border.
The Israeli relief organization is working closely with the local government and responding to the needs they have determined so far. The first few days of IsraAid’s response will include the distribution of hygiene kits to hundreds of families, and urgently needed protection and mental health support, while the team assesses the needs on the ground.
“As the fighting continues in Ukraine, we can only expect the number of refugees traveling across the country’s western borders to grow,” the organization said.
