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May 5, 2022

JDC Call Center Operators are Saving Lives in Ukraine

“I'm sitting here in the office, but really I'm there. I'm in the war,” recounts Olga Lomkin, an operator at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) call center in Israel where they are focused on one thing: saving lives in Ukraine. When the Russian invasion began, Greater Miami Jewish Federation overseas partner JDC opened a call center in Jerusalem that operates Ukrainian hotlines. Olga describes receiving a call from a client in Ukraine who desperately needed to evacuate his elderly mother. He was fleeing and had to leave her behind in Zhytomyr, where the war was escalating. “The whole time, I could hear bombs in the background or the boom, boom, like bullets,” she shudders. Olga, knowing if she didn’t act quickly the woman’s life would be in jeopardy, immediately secured a team to move the client’s mother to safety. “You start thinking your work is very important,” Olga admits, adding with obvious emotion. “We are really saving people’s lives.” To date, the hotlines have answered more than 52,000 calls. Click here to watch a video of Olga’s account in her own words. To make a donation to our Ukraine Emergency Fund, please click here.

National Antisemitism Strategy

National Antisemitism Strategy

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) is offering a special webinar today, Friday, June 2, at 1 p.m. to learn about the White House’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.

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Ministering to the Elderly Conference

Ministering to the Elderly Conference

It’s not too late to plan to attend the 27th Annual Ministering to the Elderly Conference, taking place on Thursday, June 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the campus of Miami Jewish Health.

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Litigating the Surfside Tragedy

Litigating the Surfside Tragedy

Some of Miami’s best and brightest legal minds will come together on Monday, June 12 at 6 p.m. at Bilzin Sumberg for Litigating Through Tragedy: The Surfside Settlement Negotiation.

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Birthright Visits Yerucham

Birthright Visits Yerucham

Creating people-to-people relationships is a major goal of the Miami-Yerucham Partnership, and that mission was advanced on Jerusalem Day, May 16, when 90 participants from University of Miami and Florida International University Taglit-Birthright Israel trips joined with Israeli youngsters for a day of enriching activities.

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