Rabbi Joshua Franklin of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons will travel to the Polish-Ukrainian border on April 9, along with a delegation of about 25 American and Israeli rabbis.
The East Hampton rabbi called this a “mission trip.” During six days in Poland — his exact itinerary on the border is in flux, he said — the delegation will partner with the Jewish Community Center of Krakow, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, the World Union for Progressive Judaism, J2 Adventures, and other refugee aid organizations that are actively assisting Ukrainian Jews and others who have fled Russia’s invasion of their country.
The JCC of Krakow has been providing support for Ukrainian refugees at its center in Krakow, Poland’s second largest city, seven days a week and 14 hours a day. The organization offered a lengthy list of the kinds of humanitarian efforts it now provides. These range from supplying food, clothing, and medical necessities to 300 to 500 Ukrainians a day; housing refugees in hotels and apartments in Krakow; operating a mother-and-child safe space to provide day care for 25 young children, including Polish and English classes and psychological counseling, and buying plane and train tickets to provide transport for Ukrainians who are traveling onward via Poland to other countries in Europe or to Israel.
Such are the efforts that Rabbi Franklin hopes to assist once he is in Poland, and through donations from the Jewish community on the East End.
With Passover approaching on April 15, he emailed his congregation and friends this week: “Passover reminds us that once upon a time, we too were refugees, leaving Egypt, and that when we see tyranny and oppression, it’s our moral responsibility to alleviate the contemporary suffering that we too endured long ago.”
In a phone conversation, Mr. Franklin said that during his trip he will be working directly with refugees crossing the border, listening to their stories, comforting them, and offering clergy his support when needed. In addition, the delegation will work with grassroots organizations to provide hands-on assistance, such as dispensing relief supplies.
Since Feb. 24, when Russia invaded their country, it has been reported that over 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced, making it the largest European migration since World War II and the fastest-growing refugee crisis. The United Nations estimates that of the almost four million people who fled Ukraine, about 2.3 million have entered Poland. Humanitarian needs are increasing exponentially.
“The main things that are needed right now, and the things that we’re trying to get our hands on to take over there, are medical supplies, but more specifically, broad-spectrum antibiotics,” Rabbi Franklin said. He emphasized, however, that the Jewish Center is not collecting medical supplies at the moment. “The real impact will be through monetary donations, which will be used to purchase supplies that we will get shipped over there. That, and also to support some of the boots-on-the-ground organizations, including the JCC of Krakow.”
This is not the first rabbinic refugee-aid delegation to visit Poland since the Russian offensive. The American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Federations of North America, which have raised nearly $30 million in emergency aid for Ukraine, have also sent their executives and leaders to Poland. Criticism of the trips has surfaced in the press, questioning the efficacy of such missions, given the expense of airfares, hotel rooms, translators, guides, and drivers, which, say the critics, are more urgently needed by medics and other trained relief workers.
Notwithstanding, Rabbi Franklin said that the mission to the Polish-Ukrainian border “will offer me the sacred yet scary task of witnessing the crisis up close, and allow me the opportunity to report back to our Jewish Center of the Hamptons community.”
To support this effort through the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, donations can be made to Rabbi Joshua Franklin’s Discretionary Fund, with a note that the contribution is for the rabbinic mission to Poland. One hundred percent of the funds collected will go directly to refugee efforts, through the JCC of Krakow.
