Since the shelling began to intensify in Kyiv and Kharkiv about a week ago, Julia Entin has been working feverishly 바카라 thousands of miles away in Los Angeles 바카라 to evacuate Holocaust survivors in Ukraine who find themselves trapped in yet another conflict.
For the last six years, the 39-year-old paralegal at Bet Tzedek Legal Services has helped connect Holocaust survivors with local services.
Now, Entin is coordinating rescue efforts in Ukraine because she says she feels a personal connection to their painful predicament.
바카라These are already survivors of severe trauma,바카라 said Entin, a refugee from the former Soviet Union and granddaughter of a Ukrainian Holocaust survivor. 바카라And now with this war, they are experiencing that trauma all over again.바카라
Entin is a strand in an intricate web of grassroots organisations 바카라 Jewish and non-Jewish 바카라 that has been spinning round the clock in Ukraine, working with taxi and bus operators to ferry members of vulnerable communities out of the war zone.
In a time of crisis when Jewish people from Ukraine are attempting to flee to Europe and Israel, groups such as the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and partner organizations such as Entin's, have been helping families stateside who want loved ones extricated.
Many, Entin said, have reached out to her directly because her work with Holocaust survivors.
Entin has been calling survivors in Ukraine, usually with a family member or friend on the line.
It can be challenging to establish quick rapport with older people 바카라 many with serious health issues 바카라 huddled in their homes during wartime.
Entin starts out by apologizing for speaking in Russian, instead of Ukrainian.
바카라I identify myself and tell them who I am 바카라 the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor,바카라 she said.
바카라I tell them how my grandfather was not evacuated and lived through (World War II) under Nazi occupation. It is a deep connection we have. And that helps build trust.바카라
Entin has still had trouble getting survivors to leave with trusted taxi or bus operators, who she says are vetted and recruited through referrals.
This week, one man in his late 80s refused to leave because he was afraid he might die on the way.
바카라Convincing him has been a real challenge because you cannot guarantee 바카라 no one can guarantee 바카라 that it won't happen,바카라 she said.
This hesitation appears to be common among the elderly. Svetlana Jitomirskaya, a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Irvine, has been speaking with her father's 87-year-old friend in Kharkiv, a Holocaust survivor.
바카라He refuses to leave, he doesn't want to move,바카라 she said, adding that his 88-year-old wife has medical issues as well.
바카라This is the heartbreaking part.바카라
But there have been a few success stories that have kept Entin hopeful.
On Sunday, 81-year-old Holocaust survivor Valery Semenovich Zharkovsky, his daughter Inna Valerievna Zharkovskaya and her 8-year-old daughter, were rescued from their home in Kharkiv.
Entin said Wednesday that the family arrived in Germany, where Zharkovsky's brother lives.
She said Jewish refugees typically choose to go to Israel 바카라 its Law of Return lets Jewish people make 바카라aliyah바카라 and acquire citizenship 바카라 or other parts of Europe where they could receive benefits, such as health care, right away.
바카라Regardless of where they choose to go, it has to be a warm handoff,' which means someone will always be on the other side of the border to greet them and put them on the path to their destination,바카라 Entin said.
Zharkovsky's cousin, Marina Sonina, who lives in the Chicago area, said she was relieved to hear her relatives made it out safely. She spoke with him last Saturday, a day before he left Ukraine.
바카라He was scared because the situation was really bad,바카라 she said, choking up. 바카라He's not in good health. I'm so relieved to hear they are all out of the danger zone and in a safe place.바카라
With attacks intensifying, volunteers have been arriving at the Polish border to assist evacuation efforts.
Liana Georgi 바카라 an artist, psychologist and LGBTQ activist who splits her time between Berlin and Istanbul 바카라 is among a core group of volunteers with Safebow, a group formed by gender nonconforming actor and activist Rain Dove to conduct rescue operations.
The group has been communicating via WhatsApp and started 바카라as a mental support group to give people the courage to flee,바카라 said Georgi, speaking from Warsaw. 바카라It's about being there for each other, even if it's virtually.바카라
Safebow has partnered with Entin's organization to evacuate Holocaust survivors, as well.
Georgi said the group is focusing on rescuing vulnerable minority groups, including those in the LGBTQ community, the disabled and people of color.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Jewish Federation of North America have been involved in getting Jewish refugees from Ukraine to Israel, said Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of the former. He said his organisation raised USD 1 million in four days, with the suffering in Ukraine resonating with members of other diaspora communities in Los Angeles.
바카라Many here in Los Angeles, even if they are not Russian or Ukrainian, see themselves in this story,바카라 Farkas said.
바카라We've received donations from children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. We have a diverse community in Los Angeles 바카라 from Iran, Morocco and other Mizrahi communities.바카라
California is also home to nearly 60,000 Ukrainian immigrants, the second highest in the country after New York, according to the American Community Survey's data from 2016 through 2020. The Los Angeles metropolitan area alone is home to about 17,000 Ukrainians.
Jewish Federation of Los Angeles Vice President Aaron Goldberg, who is based near Jerusalem, has helped connect newly arrived refugees with much-needed services.
바카라Our goal is to support their immigration and integration into Israeli society,바카라 Goldberg said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has 바카라 in what experts call a cynical ploy 바카라 claimed he want to 바카라denazify바카라 Ukraine, which is led by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Jewish president whose relatives were killed in the Holocaust.
There are fears of renewed Jewish repression and some of Russia's remaining 250,000 Jews are also trying to flee to Israel 바카라 but the process has been more complicated because there are not nearly as many resources, Goldberg said.
바카라But, right now, we don't know how the sanctions could affect the Jewish community there,바카라 he said.
바카라We're keeping our ears to the ground to see what needs arise in the Russian Jewish community.바카라
The work of evacuating Holocaust survivors in Ukraine is continuing as bombings have escalated this week. On Tuesday, Entin said she was working to help three couples 바카라 all Holocaust survivors 바카라 who were struggling after a night of more shelling and devastation in Kharkiv.
바카라One of the couples has no water and heat,바카라 she said. 바카라I've been up now for 38 hours straight trying to figure things out.바카라
Entin said she was trying to get a taxi driver to check up on the couple without heat 바카라 whose apartment was also starting to flood.
바카라It's been a hard night,바카라 she said. 바카라The wife said she doesn't think her husband is going to live for long.바카라
