4 Holocaust survivors rescued from bombarded Kyiv with help of Israeli charity

Four Holocaust survivors were rescued from Russian shelling in Kyiv by an Israeli charity, as part of the ongoing efforts to rescue Jews from the war-stricken country, the Walla news site reported Friday.

The special rescue operation was carried out by Yad Ezer L’Haver, an Israeli foundation established in 2001 with the purpose of aiding Holocaust survivors in Israel, many of whom live in poor socio-economic conditions.

The survivors, all over the age of 80, were rescued from the Ukrainian capital as the Russian offensive intensified and started targeting civilian areas in the city.

The first stage of their escape was reaching the Israeli field hospital that opened earlier this week in western Ukraine.

Housed on the grounds of an elementary school in Mostyska, outside Lviv, the Israeli facility is located about 630 kilometers (391 miles) from Kyiv.

The survivors, exhausted from the long trip, were welcomed by Israeli medical staff and examined to make sure they were healthy enough to survive the trip out of Ukraine, with some of them deciding to move to Israel.

“We’ve been through so much, I couldn’t believe the State of Israel would do so much in order to save us,” said Natalia, 82, from Kyiv.

Natalia was only a baby when War World II engulfed Europe, forcing her family to escape from one city to another until the war was over.

“Seventy years ago there was no one to save us and take care of us like now,” she said.

While medics declared her fit enough to board a flight to Israel, Natalia said it wasn’t easy for her to leave Ukraine, her home.

“We experienced so much suffering here,” she said, noting that life in Ukraine as a Jew was never easy. “But this is my home. How will I move to another country at my age?”

Sofia, 89, who survived the Lodz Ghetto in Poland, decided to reunite with her daughter in Germany. “My daughter is waiting for me in Germany. I hope to see her soon,” she said.

For others, moving to Israel was the obvious decision.

Unlike Natalia and Sofia, 86-year-old Yazek said he can’t wait to immigrate to the Jewish state and be reunited with his family.

“I’ve lived so long separated from my family,” he said. “It’s time to reunite, even if just for a short period of time. In a sense, I feel like I’m coming back home.”

The fourth survivor rescued by Yad Ezer L’Haver, also named Natalia, 86, was only six years old when she was rescued from the Babyn Yar massacre site in Kyiv after her entire family was killed.

She survived by hiding in a hole in the ground.

Shimon, a Yad Ezer L’Haver volunteer involved in the operation said that while dangerous, the operation would let the elderly survivors have some peace in their lives.

“We rescued four people, under fire,” he said. “We are trying to prevent them from going through this terror for the second time and let them finish their lives in dignity.”

Yad Ezer L’Haver director Shimon Sabag stressed the hard work of volunteers “working tirelessly around the clock” in Ukraine, noting that “every single rescue operation of a Holocaust survivor is more complex than the one that came before.”

“I can’t thank our volunteers enough,” he said.

“It’s so hard seeing these old survivors like this, nearing the end of their lives and forced to leave their homes, the places where they were born and raised, because of war, knowing they are likely to never return,” he added.

Yad Ezer L’Haver has rescued over 80 Holocaust survivors from Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24, according to the foundation’s website.