THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022
NEW YORK, NY — Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. (HWZOA), National President Rhoda Smolow and CEO Naomi Adler released the following statement today expressing the organization’s solidarity with and concern for the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Jewish community as they face what President Joe Biden has rightly characterized as unprovoked and unjustified Russian military aggression.
“Hadassah is deeply concerned for the well-being of the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian Jews and tens of millions of other Ukrainians. Together, they are facing the largest and most lethal military action on the European continent since World War II. We stand with them in full solidarity and pray for their safety.
“Too many civilians have already been killed. Many are fleeing for safety to neighboring countries, and some have found refuge farther afield — in Israel. We applaud the Government of Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), The Jewish Agency for Israel and other nongovernmental organizations risking their lives to provide support for Jews still in Ukraine and working to bring new Ukrainian olim to Israel. As Jews, we believe that whoever saves one life saves the entire world, and we are grateful for the bravery of those working to do so on the ground today.”