Major Jewish organizations headed by wealthy Jews in Ukraine and Russia have started fundraising campaigns for Israel fire victims.
Alexander Mashkevich, the head of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, called for an emergency fundraising drive to help Israel recover while addressing prominent Jews in Russia during a Chanukah reception.
Ukrainian-Israeli oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, head of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, is scheduled to visit Israel next week to assess the damage before deciding on the amount of aid that Ukrainian Jewry will allocate to Israel, reported IzRus.com.
Mikhail Mirilashvili, a Russian businessman who was elected head of the advisory board of the Israeli volunteer organization ZAKA in February 2010, said he would provide ZAKA with special motorcycles capable of reaching difficult-to-access regions in order to neutralize future fires. — jta