The Genesis Philanthropy Group announced a decision on Monday to provide $10 million in emergency assistance to Jews impacted by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
GPG is a global family of foundations, co-founded by Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan, international businessmen, investors and philanthropists.
The emergency aid package will be distributed in two phases.
$5 million will be distributed to support the Jewish Agency's evacuation efforts and enhance security for Jewish organizations; the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine to fund a campaign to distribute 30,000 packages of non-perishable foodstuffs across Ukraine; the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) to support their work with vulnerable Jewish populations across Ukraine; and to other regional and local Jewish community organizations operating homes for the elderly, orphanages and other critical communal infrastructure in Ukraine.
An additional $5 million will be distributed to support humanitarian aid needs as the war continues and the situation develops.
“As we watch with great distress 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 Genesis Philanthropy Group. “As someone born in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, I am especially pained by this suffering. I hope that peace will return and the Ukranian Jewish community will be able to withstand these hardships and thrive again.”
JDC president Mark Sisisky said that the war has led to a dramatic increase in humanitarian needs. “Our teams on the ground – part of our vast presence in Ukraine and around the former Soviet Union – will be able to do so much good with this generous support. We're providing food, medicine and other emergency aid in Ukraine and also partnering with Jewish communities in surrounding countries to welcome Jews crossing the borders,” he said.
Rabbi Raphael Rutman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine said that Genesis’s donation is an example of “the power of Jewish unity in the spirit of Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh La-Zeh - All Jews are responsible for each other. It is with this in mind that 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.”