The Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG) announced on Monday that it would give $10 million in emergency assistance to Jews impacted by the war in Ukraine.
GPG is a global family of foundations, co-founded by philanthropists Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven, and German Khan. Fridman and Aven were sanctioned on Monday by the European Union as part of asset freezes and visa blockages against other Russian oligarchs and the Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
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A woman holds her newborn child in a basement used as a bomb shelter at the Okhmadet children's hospital in central Kyiv, Ukraine, February 28, 2022
(Photo: AP)
One phase of the emergency aid package will see $5 million distributed to support:
- The Jewish Agency’s evacuation efforts from Ukraine and beef up security around Jewish organizations.
- The Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC) to fund a campaign to distribute 30,000 packages of non-perishable foodstuffs across Ukraine.
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Protesters in Haifa hold a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine
(Photo: Nahum Segal)
- The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) to support their work with vulnerable Jewish populations in Ukraine.
- Regional and local Jewish community organizations operating homes for the elderly, orphanages, and other critical communal infrastructure in Ukraine.
The other $5 million will be used to support humanitarian aid needs as the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfolds.
“As we watch with great concern the scenes coming from Ukraine, we see it as our duty to help Jews in danger, as we have done in other times and places,” said Gennady Gazin, Chairman of the Board of GPG.
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Jewish Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion seen after crossing the border to Poland
(Photo: The Jewish Agency)
“As someone born in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, I am especially pained by this suffering. I hope that peace will return and the Ukrainian Jewish community will be able to withstand these hardships and thrive again.”
Rabbi Raphael Rutman of the FJC said that "all Jews are responsible for each other… we are proud to join forces with GPG to bring food to those who are in desperate need today and will be in need tomorrow.”