A Sweet Purim Celebrated in War-torn Ukraine

Despite the constant violence, Jews in Eastern Ukraine were able to enjoy a lovely Purim celebration thanks to Federation’s partners at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). JDC staff members and volunteers worked around the clock to orchestrate Purim celebrations in several Jewish communities in and around the war zone, which provided temporary and much-needed respite for thousands of misplaced Jews and to those living in separatist-controlled areas – the most vulnerable of Ukraine’s Jewish population.

Jews in Donetsk celebrated Purim by visiting each other’s homes and exchanging gifts packages full of traditional holiday food. In government controlled cities like Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Artemivsk, and Krasnaormiisk, Purim celebrations were held. With the help of local Jewish community members in these regions, the JDC was able to host hundreds of internally displaced Jews for the holiday, delivering light, cheer, and sweetness to many in need this Purim.

“This Purim, we are working hard to fulfill the holiday precept to celebrate with unrestrained joy, especially by providing a much-needed respite for the thousands of displaced Jews and those in separatist-controlled regions who are severely impacted by economic and political instability,” said Michal Frank, JDC’S Former Soviet Union Regional Director.

Click here to read the full, heartwarming Purim story, published by JDC on March 4th.