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Hadassah CEO Naomi Adler (front row, fourth from the left, wearing a black sweater) with Na’ale students who came from Russia and Ukraine
Saving Ukrainian Teens Israel’s Hadassah Youth Villages undertakes an emergency effort to save youth.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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group of Ukrainian students were scheduled to arrive at Hadassah Youth Aliyah Villages in Israel in September. However, the onset of a vicious and bloody war between Ukraine and Russia pushed them to arrive nearly six months ahead of schedule. As of the most recent count, 21 high school-age Ukrainian
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teens arrived at Hadassah’s two youth villages, Neurim and Meir Shfeyah, between March and April. Before the war broke out, they had begun the application process to come to the villages, which provide services like education and vocational training, in addition to teaching youth about Judaism, but the timeline was quickly accelerated to transport them to safety.
Teen participants, who previously arrived prepared, making the journey to Israel with clothing, goods, basic necessities, and even sometimes spending money, are now arriving with just the clothes on their backs. Some come with their families, who shelter in Israel. Many, however, don’t know where their families are. They have parents in transit out of Ukraine, stuck in Ukraine or relatives that they’ve lost contact with all together. Instead of arriving as youth ready to learn, Ukrainian teens now arrive as refugees. “We have had hundreds of students in our two villages who have come from the former Soviet Union,” explains Marcie Natan, national chair of youth aliyah and former national president of Hadassah. “We’ve always referred to them as FSU students.” Nancy Bluth, a member of Hadassah’s youth aliyah team philanthropy division and past region president of Hadassah Greater Detroit, says it’s impos-
sible to fully understand the trauma and uncertainty the Ukrainian teens arriving are going through. “What we can do is give them a safe haven, counseling, some sense of normalcy and belonging,” she says. “Our efforts provide critical support to help restore trust, security and a sense of well-being.” A HOME IN ISRAEL Prior to the war, students who arrived at Hadassah Youth Aliyah Villages were thoroughly vetted and prepared. Many grew up in non-practicing households and wanted to make a connection with their Jewish roots in Israel. The villages have long held special programs geared specifically for the needs of Jewish youth from the former Soviet Union, most of whom never engaged with Judaism due to cultural restrictions. Yet for the foreseeable future, any Ukrainian youth who arrive at the youth villages will remain in Israel. “We’re
