Jewish volunteers bond with Ukrainian kids at summer camp

By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A summer camp in Poland’s capital has brought Jewish volunteers originally from Russia or other parts of the former Soviet Union to mentor Ukrainian refugee children. Jewish organizations set up the camp in Warsaw to bring some joy to children traumatized by war, to help prepare them for new school year in Poland and to give their mothers some time to themselves. The organizers say the endeavor fulfilled a desire to help people in need that is both universal and central to Judaism. A Russian-born rabbi who lives in California and worked with small children at the camp says the suffering that Jews endured for centuries creates an obligation to help those suffering now.