(Photo: Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
By Abigail Klein Leichman - March 10, 2022
Dr. Albina Rotshtein’s March 6 birthday nearly went unnoticed this year. She was busy caring for Ukrainian refugees at the Polish border as part of NATAN Worldwide Disaster Relief’s medical mission from Israel.
Instead she received a miraculous gift: Her parents, her sister and her sister’s two children managed to cross into Poland that day from their endangered home in Ukraine. Overjoyed, she rushed to Krakow to greet them.
Rotshtein’s birthday miracle exemplifies what is exceptional about the outpouring of Israeli aid for Ukrainians since the Russian invasion on February 24.
Although Israelis always rush to help victims of disasters anywhere — Haiti, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, South Sudan, Nepal, Philippines and dozens of other countries — this time it is highly personal.
Personal connections
Not only are roughly half a million Israelis of Ukrainian descent, but about 26,000 Ukrainian nationals live in Israel and an estimated 300,000 Jews reside in Ukraine, like Rotshtein’s family.
And so, while numerous Israeli governmental and non-governmental organizations are helping all Ukrainian refugees pouring into border countries, the world’s only Jewish country has a special role to play.
Read More: Israel21c