World Jewish Relief’s £1 million fundraiser
WORLD JEWISH Relief generated more than £1 million from its annual fundraiser, which attracted an audience of more than 800 on Monday.
Hosted by BBC journalist Yalda Hakim, the event offered a flavour of the charity’s transformative work across the globe.
Ms Hakim also interviewed Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who said that Jews “know perhaps more than any other people what it means to be on the road; to be homeless; to be looking desperately for a safe haven; for a country that will take us in; looking for work and looking for dignity”.
He described a visit to a WJR project supporting refugees in Idomeni, on the border of Greece and North Macedonia, as “one of the most poignant moments” of his tenure.
During 2021, WJR supported 115,000 people in 21 countries and three of the recipients were featured in the digital presentation.
But trustee Hilda Worth emphasised the charity’s continuing commitment to the survivor generation in Eastern Europe.
WJR chair Maurice Helfgott spoke about a recent trip to its projects in Turkey supporting Uyghur refugees, recounting a meeting with four teenage girls who had lost their fathers and their homes and had left everything they knew behind to start new lives.
Mr Helfgott had shared with them his own father’s story of having been rescued by WJR after being orphaned
in the Holocaust. “I don’t mind admitting that I shed a few tears.”
The event also included a performance by violinist Maxim Vengerov and a recital from former UK poetry slam champion Adam Kammerling.