A community of about 300,000 Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, most of whom are Ukrainians, has been actively involved in raising funds for the humanitarian needs of Ukraine suffering from the Russian aggression.
The New York Times wrote: "Many American Jews have relatives in Ukraine. What is more, they are spiritually tied to the country as the birthplace of Hasidic Judaism. These ties and Mr Zelenskyy's leadership have evoked a sense of solidarity with Ukraine among American Jews, the country which many of their ancestors left."
Rabbi Labish Becker, executive director of Agudath Israel of America, the leading organization of ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups, has raised more than $ 2m for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. He said the appearance of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Jew, as a "Ukrainian national hero" had become a "source of pride for the people" amid gloomy news of the war.
"We feel: we are all Ukrainians," he said.
Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesman for Chabad, one of the world's largest Hasidic communities, said it had spent $ 12m to help Ukraine since the start of the war.
Major Jewish organizations, including the World Union for Progressive Judaism, Agudath Israel of America, and the Orthodox Union, have raised about $ 3m in a week since the start of the war. Online platforms such as the Chesed Fund have raised millions in donations.
Samuel Kliger, responsible for Russia and Eurasia issues at the American Jewish Committee, told the New York Times that most Jews in the former Soviet Union oppose the Russian invasion, regardless of their background.
According to him, since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in 2014, many Jewish immigrants have changed their self-perception.
"People began to feel that they had a special Ukrainian identity in addition to the Jewish one, so they started saying that they were Ukrainian Jews," Mr Kliger said, - “They did not want anyone to call them Russian Jews anymore. People didn't use to care about this before."