What's On Our Mind 3-4-2022

What's On Our Mind ...
 
The war in Ukraine continues and with each unfolding day the loss of lives increases. Millions are trying to flee their war-torn country. Thousands have been killed, and Putin presses on with his relentless attack on a sovereign nation. 
 
In a rare show of bipartisanship, Members of Congress displayed universal support for Ukraine during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union. This is the time for the U.S. to show the world we are together in our fight for democracy. It’s not a Democratic nor Republican issue — but an American issue.
 
Biden has shown the Ukrainians that they are not alone in their fight to defeat the tyrannical Putin. He has supplied them with military power to fight back — military power that Trump denied them. Trump was more interested in cozying up to Putin than supporting Ukraine's quest for freedom. Those days are over.
 
Biden has united our allies in an unprecedented demonstration of American global leadership. The world knows that when it comes to defeating tyranny and protecting democracy, the U.S. will be there with a plan. The President has assembled a group of experts from whom he is taking counsel. 
 
On Thursday JAC friend Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) introduced bipartisan legislation to authorize the administration to confiscate the property of Russian oligarchs for their involvement in the invasion and human rights violations. The asset sale funds will be used to benefit the Ukrainian people. This is personal to Malinowski, who fled Poland with his family as a 6-year old boy.
 
A rabbi in Odessa this week loaded 300 young, frightened Jewish orphans on to a bus and headed to the hills to escape the advancing Russians and the bombs. It was a scene that played out 80 years ago. Did the world learn anything from the horrors of WWII? What happened to "Never Again"?
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The Jews in Ukraine are suffering terribly. Many are trying to leave. But for 10,000 elderly Holocaust survivors in Ukraine leaving is not a possibility. Nearly half receive home care and many of those are bed-bound. The war is triggering the trauma they suffered years ago, causing them further pain. The remaining Jews are facing water, food, and medical shortages. The situation will only get worse. HOW TO HELP THE JEWS IN UKRAINE