March 1, 2022
American Jewish Committee (AJC), the leading global Jewish advocacy organization, launched today AJC’s Emergency #StandWithUkraine Fund to assist Ukrainian refugees and to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine following Russia’s unprovoked, violent invasion.
“As the people of Ukraine undertake a heroic stand in their fight for freedom, it’s up to us to do whatever we possibly can to assist,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “The stakes could not be higher. As a frequent visitor, and having just traveled to Kyiv on a solidarity mission in January, I believe in the critical importance of a free, independent, and democratic Ukraine.”
AJC’s Emergency #StandWithUkraine fund is consistent with the organization’s longstanding tradition of providing assistance when possible in dire situations. AJC is in touch with a number of key Ukrainian, Israeli, and Jewish partners to determine how best to assist.
To date, an estimated 500,000 Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with an untold number of Ukrainians displaced within their homeland.
In 1991, AJC became the first Jewish organization outside Ukraine to call on President George H.W. Bush to recognize the country's independence from Moscow. Since then, AJC has stood in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and staunchly supported a free and democratic Ukraine, including becoming the only group in the world to set up a temporary office in Kyiv during the Maidan Revolution in 2014.
In addition to establishing a humanitarian relief fund, AJC is calling on Congress to work with the administration to impose ever more punitive sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
Visit AJC.org/Support-Ukraine for more information and to donate.
