The Jewish Agency on Saturday announced that it was opening six immigration processing stations at Ukrainian border crossings with four countries: Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Hungary. The initiative, operated in conjunction with Nativ and the Foreign Ministry, seeks to assist the expected waves of aliyah due to the war in Ukraine.
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Since fighting broke out last week, the Jewish Agency had been operating from a central aliyah station in Lviv. This was the departure point of the first group of immigrants, who crossed into Poland with the help of Jewish Agency emissaries.
As the conflict escalated on Saturday and on the Foreign Ministry's orders, the Jewish Agency moved its emissaries from Ukraine to the Polish side of the border. From there, they will cross the border into Ukraine every day, together with Israel's diplomatic teams, in order to continue assisting Ukrainian Jews who want to immigrate to Israel, in accordance with eligibility for aliyah granted by Nativ.
The agency is also preparing to temporarily house olim in hotels in the countries bordering Ukraine, with support from the Jewish Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod and other donors from around the world. The effort is also being coordinated with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which will assist with flights to Israel, and with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry.
Also on Saturday, United Hatzalah, Israel's largest volunteer-based emergency medical services organization, announced that it was sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
The group's first jump team scrambled to the country overnight where it will establish itself on the Ukrainian border with Moldova with the aim of providing medical and psychological treatment as well as humanitarian aid to refugees fleeing the warzone.
The jump team, which is comprised of 12 EMTs, paramedics, doctors, a dentist, and members of the Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit, will be tasked with providing initial aid, assessing needs, and building a comprehensive long-term treatment plan. In Moldova, they will be met with additional team members joining from Miami, Florida.
United Hatzalah said that in the coming days, an additional team comprising 30 medical personnel will be joining the jump team. The delegation was formed at the request of the Chief Rabbi of Moldova Pinchas Salzman, and in coordination with the Foreign Ministry.
"The volunteers are equipped with medical and humanitarian supplies and will be tasked with providing assistance to those crossing the border from Ukraine into Moldova," said United Hatzalah Vice President of Operations Dov Maisel. "The delegation is joined by a representative from Sheba Beyond, a program at the Sheba [Medical Center], who will assist with the installation and operation of remote medical equipment that will enable doctors from Israel to train and assist medical practitioners in the field at the border."
Sheba Beyond is an innovating, virtual medical platform by the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, ranked by Newsweek as one of the top 10 hospitals in the world. The program manages over 130 virtual clinics in every medical discipline, allowing Sheba experts to consult on cases locally and worldwide.
The hospital said it will be sending advanced technological equipment that will be used to set up remote medical stations along the Ukrainian border crossings to assist anyone in need. The equipment sent to the relief area includes devices for remote physical examination, devices for remote cardiac monitoring, and the remote monitoring of vital signs. Among them are a portable ultrasound device and a device for performing a remote blood test.
"We have the ability to provide remote assistance and use advanced technologies to bring the high quality of Sheba medical care to areas that are also experiencing medical crises," said Dr. Galia Barkai, head of the Sheba Beyond program. "The advanced equipment in the field will be connected online to Sheba's computers so that we can guide, advise, and help the delegation's staff in providing expert medical care in the field."
EMT David Krispel, who heads the jump team, said, "Due to the fact that [Ukranian] airspace is closed, we are flying first to Romania, and from there we will be traveling by land to Kishinev in Moldova. There we will connect representatives of the Jewish community, and Israeli representatives from the Foreign Ministry, and together we will build a refined strategy for the mission."
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