(Jewish Group) With the help of a NYC synagogue, two young Ukrainian Jewish refugees will soon marry

[Behind the Aegis]

With the help of a NYC synagogue, two young Ukrainian Jewish refugees will soon marry in Israel

Following an incredible journey of survival that began in Kyiv in February, passed through Belarus and finally ended in Israel in April, Yakov Poluden, 28 and Malka Bukreeva, 21, refugees from Ukraine, plan to marry on July 10 in Tiberias, a city on the shore of Israel’s Lake Kinneret.

The wedding will take place thanks to the support of many individuals and organizations — including a $15,000 donation to help pay for the ceremony from the Altneu, a new congregation on the Upper East Side that was founded by Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt and his wife Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt last fall.

Helping refugees in Ukraine was one of the first initiatives that the pair put together as heads of the new synagogue, which they started after Goldschmidt was ousted as assistance rabbi at Park East Synagogue. “When we thought about fundraisers and doing campaigns, one of the most important things was that we raise [money] not just for our institution, but for those in need,” Chizhik-Goldschmidt, whose family is from Kyiv, told the New York Jewish Week.

The story of how Poluden and Bukreeva safely fled their home, got together and got engaged is an unlikely one — about as unlikely as a Manhattan synagogue paying for their wedding. But, as Chizhik-Goldschmidt explained: “We also believe in supporting people directly rather than going through an organization where there’s unclear overhead costs.”

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