Crimea's Jewish community is seeking a return to calm as Russian troops continue to move into Ukraine. "I don't want to be annexed to Russia, all I want is to be able to live in peace without anyone harming my family," said Daniel, a Jewish resident of the Crimean peninsula, where Russia has seized control. "I still believe things will be good here." A discussion took place Monday at the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem on providing emergency aid to reinforce security at Jewish institutions in Ukraine. There are more than 300,000 Jews in Ukraine; many of them are seniors and Holocaust survivors who require assistance. Jewnet, an information service for Russian and Russian-speaking Jewish organizations, oversees a program that sends people to visit elderly Jews in their homes. "We are trying to make this place as normal as possible during this time when it's not clear what will happen," said Ira Zabrovskaya, the Jewnet representative for southern Ukraine. Elena Drozenia, one of the participants in the Jewnet program, brought a care package of food to 82-year-old Mikhail Solomonivich, who has been forced to stay home since the outbreak of the revolution. "When Mikhail received the care package from the Hesed [social welfare] center in Kiev, he said that he had never looked forward to a visit from a Hesed volunteer as much he did then," Drozenia said. Solomonivich said that since the violence began, he had had to stay at home, making this kind of volunteer work so important.
Jews in Crimea: We don't want to be annexed to Russia
Crimea's Jewish community is hoping for life to return to normal • Jewish organizations in Ukraine work to care for the elderly Jewish population forced to stay at home since the outbreak of the revolution • Jewish Agency considers sending further aid.
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