Rohr Hears About War’s Devastation From Ukraine’s Shluchim

By COLlive reporter 

Two and a half months after Russia declared war on Ukraine, Jews of the former Soviet Union country are recalculating the course of their lives.

Chabad Shluchim who serve as chief rabbis and heads of Jewish institutions in Ukraine recently held a meeting in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood to discuss a long-term plan for dealing with the ongoing war.

They met at the home of Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, Vice Chairman of Merkos L’inyonei Chinuch, and held discussions with him and major Jewish philanthropist George Rohr.

Both have been instrumental in supporting the remarkable revival of Jewish life after the fall of the Iron Curtain. With Rohr’s support, hundreds of schools were built and many Shuls have been rebuilt in the last 32 years.

Present were Odessa Chief Rabbi Avraham Wolff, Zhitomir Chief Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, Kharkiv Chief Rabbi Moshe Moskowitz and Rabbi Pinchas Vishedsky of Donetsk / Kyiv. They were joined by Rabbi Dovid Mundshein and Rabbi Shlomo Peles of the Ohr Avner Chabad Foundation.

The Shluchim gave a comprehensive and detailed overview of the rescue efforts of hundreds of thousands of Jews to safety, and the welfare and charitable activities with refugees from the war who are temporarily staying in several countries around the world.

At the meeting, it was decided that communities should focus on a gradual reopening of the institutions and the careful return of the community rabbis to their hometowns.

Until the war, 155 rabbis served in about 30 different communities in Ukrainian cities. A number of them remained in the country under fire, since the onset of the war. However, a large majority were forced to flee, due to the fierce Russian attacks on cities.

Some of the communities suffered a severe blow following the war, and most of all the community in the ruined city of Mariupol. And yet, in some cities, there are still many Jews, who were not allowed to cross the country’s borders due to their age and their enlistment in the army, or adults who had trouble leaving physically, they explained.

Since the war began, most of the rabbis and many members of their congregations have been evacuated via special rescue operations. In the cities of Dnipro, Odessa, Kherson and others, rabbis remained or returned.

The rabbis continued to manage their communities remotely, supplying food and life-saving equipment for the Jews who stayed behind. It should be noted that in some places, such as

The physical return of rabbis will assist in reuniting communities that were torn apart, preserve what is left of them and redevelop the community institutions. Both Rabbi Kotlarsky and Rohr were committed to assisting to make that happen.