Rosh Hashanah in a Time of Sirens: Kyiv’s Unity, Africa’s Service
Shanah tovah from The Media Line to all who celebrate.
Reporter Maayan Hoffman brings two windows onto a single New Year’s theme: Jewish strength expressed through community and service. In Kyiv, pared-down services, mass holiday meals, and a surge of displaced families shape Rosh Hashanah under air-raid alerts and curfews. Chief Rabbi Jonathan Markovitch says the prayer is not only for victory but for an end to war. His community is feeding about 1,000 people across four locations and sounding the shofar throughout the city, even as Kyiv absorbs those fleeing frontline towns. Hoffman traces acts of solidarity—Ukrainian students writing to peers in Bnei Brak after both schools were hit; a wounded soldier who chose gratitude after losing a hand; an older couple who found a home the day they lost everything. The message Markovitch wants ringing in the year ahead is unity: Jews and non-Jews helping one another toward something steadier than sirens.
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Her second report follows Israelis who spend the holiday giving back from Tanzania to Uganda. Volunteer Ayelet Israeli describes HalevAfrica’s long-term work with orphans and children who were abandoned or abused—pairing classroom support with safe housing and mentorship. Ayelet Levin-Karp, CEO of SID Israel (Society for International Development), outlines a network of 150 partners that turn good intentions into lasting projects—from solar-powered wells to campaigns against neglected tropical diseases. In Karamoja, Uganda, Lior Sperandeo’s SHANITA serves 300 children with a simple formula: food, health care, and schooling intertwined with agriculture so kids learn and eat every day. The throughline is purpose: keeping faith, keeping routine, and keeping close to those who need a hand.
Rosh Hashanah asks us to look forward and inward at once. Read Hoffman’s full reporting here and here to feel the texture of these stories—the kitchens and classrooms, the shofar calls and fieldwork—and to meet the people turning a hard year into acts of care, courage, and community.
May the year ahead be written for life, safety, and peace.
