world
And on March 14, a group of Reform
and Reconstructionist Jewish groups,
including the Union for Reform Judaism,
announced a call for a communal fast on
March 16 that would be accompanied
by a prayer service outside the Russian
Embassy in Washington, D.C.

“For more than two weeks we have
witnessed the heartbreaking suffering
of the Ukrainian people at the hands
of a leader who reminds us of Haman,
and whose effort at subjugation must
be stopped,” the groups said in a state-
ment. “In the spirit of the Batei Din,
the Rabbinic Courts of old, we call for
a Taanit Tzibbur, a Communal Fast,
to demonstrate our solidarity with the
Ukrainian people.”
A communal fast or its alternatives,
including making donations to causes
aiding Ukrainians, offers a historic
chance for Jewish groups to connect
their work with the real concerns of
the people they strive to engage, two
Jewish philanthropists argued in eJew-
ishPhilanthropy on March 14.

“Jewish organizational work needs to
connect our current lives and challenges
with Jewish wisdom and tradition,”
wrote Don Abramson, a former chair
of American Jewish World Service, and
Joe Kanfer, a former chair of Jewish
Federations of North America. “This
is a teaching opportunity to invoke
our collective memory and for Jews to
understand the significance of Purim
in a way that they likely have not in
their lifetimes.”
For Borovitz and others on the front
lines of the effort to support Ukrainian
Jews, the holiday’s significance is
already being felt viscerally: The Hillel
building where he works in Berlin has
been turned into a hostel for students
who have fled Ukraine.

Borovitz said he’s thinking not just
about the impact of the fast day on Jews
like him, but on non-Jewish Ukrainians
like the ones he got to know during his
Peace Corps stint. At least 10 of his for-
mer students are currently serving in
the Ukrainian Army, he said, adding,
“As far as I know, everyone’s alive.”
“I think that it would mean a lot
for people in Ukraine — and maybe
even for the president himself — to
know that the Jewish people are behind
them,” he said. JE
JTA’s Shira Hanau contributed reporting.

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