Aliyah Project
The main thrust of Ezra UK is to support Aliyah projects run by Ezra International teams in various countries. The goal is to help those living in poverty with the costs involved in their aliyah process. While their flights are paid for by either the Jewish Agency or the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, there are many additional costs such as transport to the Israeli Consuls/JA offices; transport to the airport; costs involved in papers and documents (translations, Apostilles etc). Sometimes we Ezra Team Membersalso help with extra luggage payments when the airlines only allow very small luggage limits. This help can make the difference as to whether a family or individual decides to make aliyah or not. Ezra teams, especially in the former Soviet Union countries, give advice on finding the evidence of their Jewish roots.
Israel Aid Project
The Israel Aid project was really started in response to the War situation in East Ukraine. In the early days of that conflict we were seeing many Jewish people arrive in Israel with almost no luggage at all. Ezra UK’s Israel Aid projects works in partnership with Ministry to Israel (ministrytoisrael.org) which has worked in helping new immigrants for many years. MTI is bringing containers of aid in from Holland, USA and N Ireland and Ezra UK is delighted to be part of that programme. Currently we have main collecting and sorting points in N Ireland and, on a smaller scale, in Carlisle.
Our representative, Jim Clint, in N Ireland writes: “The Israel Aid programme involves shipping out good quality second-hand clothing from Northern Ireland to needy Jewish families who have recently made aliyah.
Ukraine Childrens Projects
The Children’s Rescue Centre (CRC) began by directly contact children living on the street, offering food and blankets and literally trying to persuade them to come in out of the cold. CRC volunteers and then staff began spending time in the Government’s ‘shelter’, attempting to bring care to the children housed there. Gradually the outside volunteers from CRC were given more influence as the trust and confidence in them increased. CRC teams worked with the shelter for many years but now CRC teams are more involved in social services. Staff field phone calls from the police, family members and others reporting abuse or children at risk. The CRC staff to home visits and are the social workers managing the cases for children identified at risk in several districts of Kiev. The first priority is to keep the children with their parents if it is safe and feasible to do so and offer in-home support.