On October 19th, a Jewish Agency fair was held in Kyiv, bringing together families, youth and all those who support Israeli culture and values. People came from various cities across Ukraine. A total of 800 people attended the event. The fair was held in an underground parking lot for security reasons—a necessary measure due to the state of war in our country!

The event provided an opportunity for people to connect with their culture, be inspired by the atmosphere of unity and ask questions they had about moving to Israel and beyond. Organisations involved in the Aliyah work in both Ukraine and Israel were represented, including Ezra.

We were given a space where we set up our info desk under a booth. There, we were able to meet people, communicate with them, share information about our activities and even conduct impromptu consultations!
A young woman, Karolina, approached us and asked: "What kind of assistance do you
provide?" As soon as she heard that Ezra's primary focus was assisting with paperwork for repatriation visas, she was incredibly happy. "How wonderful! This is
exactly what I need right now!" she exclaimed. 

During the fair, we consulted 29 families. Four families needed help with DNA testing, to establish their relation to a Jewish person in the family.  

The most vivid impressions came from meeting people we've been in touch with for a long time by phone but had yet never met in person. One family approached our booth and said: "We know about your work because you already help us!" Another family had, thanks to our help, obtained visas and will now fly to Israel on November 19th. They are flying with their pets—four large German Shepherds! —and it was us who were organising the family's logistics for the flight. Meeting them gave us the opportunity to make final arrangements in person which increased the family's confidence that everything will work out fine on the day! 
This event demonstrated that interest in Aliyah is significant and relevant! The need for help remains very present for many Ukrainian Jews!