KH-UIA global family uniting in crisis
UIA Australia hosted over 500 supporters at its Keren Hayesod-UIA Global Family online event last week.
Guest speakers included Dina and Mario Nathusius from Guatemala, Francesca Modiano from Milan, Dan Serfaty from Paris and Renata Chame from Sao Paulo, who provided an overview about how COVID-19 has devastatingly impacted their communities.
President of KH-UIA Guatemala for 25 years, Mario Nathusius and Vice President KH-UIA International Women’s Division of Latin America, Dina Nathusius described how their community was small but strong and were proud of how the community has stayed connected through the pandemic via online events despite facing economic challenges. They also expressed how their community nourishes its relationship with Israel.
President of KH-UIA Italy and past President of KH-UIA Women’s Division of Italy, Francesca Modiano described how although COVID-19 affected the Jewish community in Milan, they acted early to protect the elderly and rallied to support one another. 22 Jewish communities in Italy were grateful for the support provided by The Loan Fund for Distressed Diaspora Communities – a partnership between KH-UIA, The Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish Federations of North America. This reinforced how KH-UIA is a global family and we can rely on each other, and Israel is there for us in crisis.
Co-President of KH-UIA France, Dan Serfaty said that despite the dire economic and social effects of the pandemic on the French Jewish community, this extraordinary event has generated a huge amount of solidarity and empathy within the global Jewish family, and highlighted the importance of our interconnectedness.
Renata Chame – who previously worked at KH-UIA Sao Paulo – and her family made Aliyah one month ago amidst the global pandemic and travel restrictions. She described the challenging journey, and how KH-UIA supported them upon their arrival to Israel: “While all other countries are closing their doors, in Israel – we were received with open arms and hearts”.
UIA Australia CEO Yair Miller said: “This webinar reminded us all of just how powerful it can be to feel part of a true collective. When we speak of the Keren Hayesod-UIA global family, even many of our life-long supporters sometimes forget just how unique and inclusive we are. Our ability to impact on such a broad range of national priority projects and our global reach is absolutely empowering. Each UIA supporter can be so proud of what we have collectively been able to achieve for the People of Israel – in its broadest sense.”
KH-UIA is a true Jewish global collective with campaigns in 40 countries and over 60 cities operating in 9 languages across 22 time zones. This means every UIA donor and supporter is part of a wonderful and diverse global family with the interests of the People of Israel and broader Jewish world at its heart.
