The food packages  were distributed to needy Jews in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan with the help of the respective Rabbis and emissaries of the Hasidic Chabad movement.

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (Keren L’Yedidut) ihas sponsored sponsoring tens of thousands of Passover food packages for 120,000 needy Jewish families living in the former Soviet Union.

The funding for the packages was made possible by the generosity of Christian friends of Israel around the world who donate to The Fellowship. The Federation of the Jewish Communities of the Commonwealth of Independent States (FJC) in partnership with CHAMAH and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JOINT) is distributing the items to Jews in need.

This year’s distribution of Passover food packages has been dedicated in memory of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the founder and previous president of The Fellowship who suddenly passed away two months ago. “Passover is a holiday for the family, but for me and for The Fellowship, this is the first Passover we are celebrating without the head of the family, my father, the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein,” said President of The Fellowship, Yael Eckstein.

“We therefore decided to dedicate this year’s operation in his memory in order to emphasize that his legacy lives on, and his life’s work continues to do good and give hope to tens of thousands of Jews around the world, even though he is no longer physically with us. We are continuing to move forward, to act with full force as well as to expand our activities and help other people.”

Included among the 37,000 food packages are 150,000 boxes of matzah, a composite weight of 36 tons, and 75,000 bottles of wine and grape juice. Each food box has a monetary value of 15% the average monthly salary in Ukraine. The food packages  were distributed to needy Jews in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan with the help of the respective Rabbis and emissaries of the Hasidic Chabad movement.