"Hitler and the fascists made a bad work. They did not kill enough Jews. If I had a gun in my possession, I would kill them all!" - Director, Crimea Passport Office (Ovir), January, 1998

We in the democratic West assumed that when "democracy" came to the provinces of the former Soviet Union, that, "voila," the character of those nations had changed. But most have not changed.

Directors of an associated ministry in the Ukraine just sent a shocking report of a trip they made to Crimea in January.

They wrote, "The situation in Crimea is much worse than we believed. Our team was there and they were all shocked. During two days time, the team gathered 56 Jewish families, together 198 people, who all want to immigrate to Israel. Most cannot even afford the paperwork and are desperate. We did not advertise in any way that we were coming. As soon as we arrived, everybody knew.

"The director of the Crimea passport office said it all. We are talking now about saving lives. The Jewish people in Crimea need our help. The time is running from them.

A more detailed report is on the way." (See report below for more details.)

While both Christian and Jewish organizations are raising funds to sponsor plane and ship passage for Jews wanting to emigrate from the lands of the north, what if the Jews can't afford to leave the country?

There are many Jews who are so poor that they cannot afford the relatively exorbitant fees for passports and exit permits to come to Israel. Some don't even have shoes, nor can they afford the transportation to the transit points to get their plane or ship. Those providing this passage do not pay for this paperwork, transportation to transit points or lodging until they leave. Many who are desperate to go to Israel are being left behind as the situation grows worse each day.

His name is Joseph Moisejevich Lerman. He worked for 40 years as the main engineer in Chernobyl and was exposed to radiation. He was evacuated to the village of Armjansk in the Crimea, with his wife Fannie and two daughters, Zinoida and Ljudmila. They live in an apartment with no heat, described "as a dump and rotten, the water is leaking on the walls and during the frost, there is ice on the walls inside."

Joseph receives a pension of 54 Hrivne (US$22/month) with an extra payment of 3.70 Hrivne (US$1.50) for his work at Chernobyl.

Joseph is desperate and pleaded, "I am praying. Please help us to leave this place, no matter by car, by wagon, but quickly."

His wife, Fannie, cries, "We urge you, please deliver us. We are rotting to death. We are a buried alive. And even our young daughter is dying together with us. Please help."

Their other daughter, Zinoida, immigrated to Israel in March, 1997. She is weak because of Chernobyl and has no possibility of helping her parents and handicapped sister to get to Israel.

The Lerman family are like many others who are trapped and their fate may be doomed if they don't leave soon. The attitude of the director of the passport office says it all.

Operation Tarshish has an unprecedented opportunity to rise to the occasion at this hour of need. Thousands of such cases need our help. This is why we are introducing a new program - OPERATION RESCUE

For US$300 per person, we can provide transportation to a transit point for departure to Israel, housing while waiting for paperwork to be processed, and pay for the passport and exit visa. We will greet them when they arrive in Israel with Welcome Gifts from our Operation Tarshish Outreach Center in Jerusalem. Please note: There are many fine organizations working to transport the immigrants to Israel, e.g. Operation Exodus, Wings of Eagles, Exobus, the Jewish Agency airlifts, etc. We are providing all the preparations to get them ready for departure, then helping them upon arrival.

For a family like the Lermans who earn US$23.50 per month from Joseph's pension, the chances of them getting to Israel are nil without our help. It simply costs too much for them to leave.

Prayerfully consider what you can do -- what we can do together. Operation Tarshish is working with a ministry in the Ukraine who are already helping Jews too poor to leave the CIS without extra assistance. They have lists of names of Jewish people waiting to leave.

This ministry in the Ukraine will get them out, and Operation Tarshish will help them upon their arrival in Israel. Will you help, too?

Please send your gift to Operation Tarshish for this project.Operation Tarshish will issue you a receipt. Please make checks payable to Operation Tarshish, but include a note or write on the cheque: For Immigrant Rescue Project.

Your contribution will help a poor Jewish immigrant who could not otherwise afford to immigrate to Israel. Send your gift and become a part of Bible prophecy.

If you want More Information then please visit our page.

In late December, a team had an opportunity to get to know how the Jewish people are living in the small town of Armyansk...

Impressions were terrible! There is no other suitable word for this. The town is without heat, and the homes are cold. There is no water, and very often the entire town is without electricity. When the people prepare food, the steam condenses on the cold walls, which become moldy. The blackness slips down from the ceiling, the wallpaper has fallen long ago. In some homes, because of lack of heat, it is so cold that this dampness freezes on the walls inside the houses.

People in Armyansk go after water with their buckets to the railway station, where there is a water fountain. There are 170-200 people standing in line with their rubbish pails, because there is only one place where you can throw out the rubbish. The impressions are that the people are left to die, but the people still cling to life. It is somehow terrifying and alarming when you see the depressed faces. In the past, they were diligent and hard working people, specialists, people with high education. Now they have lost their jobs, are rejected and not needed anymore. People try to find a way out from this suffering, and can't.

The pensions are 48 Hrivne (about US$27) per month, and the payments get delayed 3-4 months. You cannot get medical aid free of charge anymore. In every home there are tragedies.

Here is just one case:

Nadezda Semeryak is 70-years-old. She takes care of 3 orphaned grandchildren who are 6, 9 and 12 years old. She became very ill and was diagnosed with tuberculosis. The hospitals will not help her without payment. However, her pension is about US$27 and she receives only US$5.60 additionally per child. She cannot afford the care and may die. But, what about the children?

Still the Jewish people have hope! They are wanted in Israel, the Promised Land. However, there are still so many obstacles for the Jews, who are unwanted in Crimea. It is not so simple to just get up and go to Israel. They are worn out with all the paperwork and bureaucracy that is designed to frustrate them. They are told to bring this paper, then told they need another. The official then picks on every possible word to find fault. They are mocked and berated because they are Jews. The officials hold back the passports without any legal reason, and then want extra payment. You can express this action simply: blackmail for bribes.

Many of the Jewish people have to make a special trip to Kiev just to find out that all the necessary papers are in order, and that Crimea has no legal rights to hinder their Aliyah (immigration) to Israel. But, the situation continues.

Not everybody is strong enough to stand against the mocking, the "red tape," and the humiliation. There are so many stories, but it is too difficult to write about all these things.

We look forward to your financial help so that we can rescue the Jews of Crimea and other places and send them to Israel.

We cry out to the God of Israel: "Let your people go!"

Mr & Mrs ***** *** **** *******

**** **********

Ukraine

Names withheld for security reasons