WJR diners celebrate ‘modern day miracle’
THE RESURGENCE of Jewish life in a city devastated by the Holocaust was hailed as a “modern day miracle” at World Jewish Relief’s annual dinner on Monday, which raised £1 millionplus.
More than 400 guests at London’s Guildhall heard how the charity — supporting Jewish communities in need across Eastern Europe — had seen major progress in Krakow, Poland, where it built the Jewish Community Centre ten years ago at the request of the Prince of Wales.
Jonathan Ornstein, executive director of JCC Krakow, said the centre had not only become the primary care provider for more than 60 Holocaust survivors in the city. It was also a hub for young Poles discovering their Judaism.
He went on to express pride in the JCC’s new Jewish pre-school, the first to open in Krakow for over 70 years. “Every morning I walk into work an hour’s drive from Auschwitz and I hear the laughter of Jewish children,” he said. “That’s a miracle.”
The dinner was hosted by Newsnight anchor Emily Maitlis, who said WJR had been “saving lives since 1933”, highlighting its role in the Kindertransport. “Miracle” worker: Jonathan Ornstein addressing World Jewish Relief supporters at the Guildhall dinner
Ms Maitlis presented Debbie Cantor with the Harry Heber Outstanding Volunteer Award on behalf of the volunteers who manage WJR’s treasure trove of personal records from the 1930s and
40s. She said “Debbie took on the task of recruiting and leading a team of volunteers to manage this complicated and sometimes emotional and traumatic process,” giving people access
to documents detailing the support given to family members when they came to Britain as refugees.
Last year, almost 800 requests for family information were submitted and the team communicated “with each and every one of them, enlightening and enlivening their understanding of their own family history”.
WJR chair Dan Rosenfield said the night was about celebrating “the millions of lives we have saved since our work began all those years ago in 1933. The 14,000 people we have helped into work since we began our Livelihoods programme in 2011; the 3,000 homes we have repaired since 2010, doubling the pace of our work in the past year.”
But he added that “celebrating our achievements is not enough. We will instead be inspired to do more, to do better. We must and we will commit to finish the job we started, never to rest until we eradicate Jewish poverty for good.”
Introducing a film about Galina, one of the 19,000 older people the charity has supported in the past year, Ms Maitlis said: “I wish one could be more optimistic about life in Ukraine today.”
Recalling her own experience of visiting some of the poorest Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, she observed that “for the Galinas of this world, World Jewish Relief is more than a lifeline — it’s truly life-saving”.
Proceeds from the dinner will enable the charity to provide assistance including homecare, medical support, property repairs and activities to combat isolation.
We will not rest until we eradicate Jewish poverty’