Despite coronavirus, EAJC brings matzah to Jewish communities for Passover
As a result of their efforts, the EAJC was able to deliver matzah to communities in India, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Georgia.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFA MAN wraps fresh matza during Passover in Ashdod in 2016(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
Despite the coronavirus outbreak, the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) delivered several tons of matzah to the Jewish communities in the region for Passover.The deliveries are part of an annual project that has taken place for over 15 years, with the EAJC providing matzah and holiday essentials for many members of the Jewish communities in the Euro-Asian region. However, the need was made more urgent due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the EAJC receiving more calls than ever before as more and more communities struggled to acquire necessities before Passover.As a result of their efforts, the EAJC was able to deliver matzah to communities in India, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Georgia. Earlier on Sunday, an additional 300 kg of matzah was sent to the Jewish community in Armenia.“In addition to the matzah supply, we have provided emergency financial assistance to the Jewish communities and organizations affiliated with the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. The world is experiencing a pandemic, and we all need to mobilize so that Jewish life in the diaspora does not fade away,” EAJC president Dr. Michael Mirilashvili said in a statement.One of these organizations was the Moscow Public Organization of former Jewish prisoners of the ghettos and Nazi concentration camps. Thanks to the EAJC's assistance, they were able to deliver matzah, kosher food and medicine. This is especially notable, as due to their age, Holocaust survivors are at high risk from the virus. The organization's head, Oleg Mortkovich, said that they remain in constant contact with the Holocaust survivors.“In the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic, many of our sponsors could not provide donations, and we have to take emergency measures to support those who are vulnerable, many of whom are at risk from coronavirus,” said Irina Shcherban, head of the Moscow Jewish Community House and the Association of Jewish Community Centers of the CIS.“In such a difficult time with such help, people feel that they are not alone and that the Jewish community thinks and cares about them.”
