Thousands sign up to refugees scheme
THAN 2,100 households have signed up to host refugees from Ukrainian in a scheme inspired by the Kindertransport.
The initiative set up by Rabbi Jonathan Romain with UK charity Refugees At Home has seen a doubling in the interest it has had in a week.
The Maidenhead rabbi said families signed up come from all over the UK, including towns and cities with small Jewish communities: “Many are London-based, but others are scattered throughout the country. For instance we have three Jewish families in Cirencester, a town not known for its Jewish population.”.
“They vary from those who are shomer Shabbat to those who are nonobservant. They also include those who wish to take Jewish refugees in particular and those willing to take anyone in need.”
The generosity of people has also extended to families fleeing the war with their pets.
Rabbi Romain praised those volunteers in particular as “knowing how important pets can be to a family at any time, but especially when they have lost everything else.”
He said the increase in volunteers was a “very powerful indication of how appalled British Jews are at what is happening and how keen they are to respond in some way.
“Ideally we want the war to stop, but as that is not something we can affect, people want to at least make a difference to the individual or family whom they can rescue from the conflagration.”
He added: “In so many respects helping the refugee is part of the Jewish DNA, morally, emotionally and historically; it is not just to do with our common humanity but also auto-biography.”
Meanwhile World Jewish Relief’s appeal for Ukraine has raised more than £5 million.
The charity said it desperately need to raise a minimum of £10 million to meet the growing humanitarian need in Ukraine.
WJR has also had more than 1,500 people express an interest in hosting refugees through the national resettlement scheme Homes For Ukraine.
In north west London a group of 9-year-old girls raised £515 for WJR’s appeal by selling cakes. Jemima Gillis, who attends the Independent Jewish Day School, and Yakira Pauwen and Laila Steel from Hasmonean Primary joined forces with Alicia Landy from Rimon School to sell an assortment of sweet treats to Hampstead Garden Suburb football players.
Alicia said: “When I heard about the war in Ukraine and all the refugees I really wanted to help. I was so happy that our cakes and biscuits were so popular with all the players and parents and we couldn’t believe how much we raised.”