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Shortly after the outbreak of fighting on the border of Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Tbilisi Hillel Director Moris Krikheli responded by helping relocate families that fled their homes in Gori, a city hurt by the fighting. In the days that followed, dozens of Hillel student activists joined his efforts to aid in the refugee’s plight.
Tbilisi Hillel Director Moris Krikheli (far right) leads a group of refugee teenagers and students in Jewish songs.
The most recent bout of violence began August 7 between Russian and Georgian troops in the South Ossetia region, a breakaway province that fought for independence from Georgia in the early 1990s.
That same day Tbilisi Hillel was scheduled to open in its new building. The building opened and students were able to participate in Hillel programs.
Krikheli said that during the summer students usually leave Tbilisi but many returned early to help, "trying to create an environment to make them [the Jewish refugees] feel as comfortable as possible."
"It has become more and more obvious that… we need to provide them with the feeling that they are a part of us and we are a part of them," Krikheli said.
Hillel is cooperating with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) to address the immediate needs of refugees in Tbilisi. Hillel activists are volunteering on rotating shifts at the Jewish House, which is the city’s community center, to play games with the teenagers, take them on field trips to water parks and swimming pools, as well as to organize sporting and painting competitions.
Tbilisi Hillel students with refugee children.
"We cannot treat the wound in one or two days,” Krikheli said. "It's deep in their hearts. We need to continually help them."
Sandy Cahn and Karen Moss, board members and co-chairs of Hillel’s FSU Committee, said they are deeply moved by the work Hillel in Tbilisi is doing.
"It makes me very proud to be a member of Hillel International and it’s just strengthened my commitment," Cahn said.
Hillel has been operating in the former Soviet Union since 1994, serving nearly 30 communities across the region.
"Our involvement in the FSU is something we’re very proud of," said Hillel President Wayne L. Firestone. "Hillel is a vital participant in the rebirth and renaissance of the Jewish community in the FSU."
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