Israel Hayom wrote about the support of the Jewish community of Odessa after the Russian strike on a school and orphanage

The Israeli publication Israel Hayom on June 17, 2026, published an article about the wave of international support for the Jewish community of Odessa following the Russian strike on Jewish educational and social infrastructure facilities.

This concerns the “Or Avner Chabad” complex and the children’s home “Mishpacha Ukraine”, where children live and study, including orphans and children who have experienced evacuation, war, and the loss of their usual lives.

An important detail: the attack itself did not occur on June 17. The Russian strike on Odessa, which severely damaged the Jewish school complex and affected the infrastructure of the children’s home, occurred on the night of April 30, 2026.

According to Jewish and Israeli sources, during the alarm, staff and educators managed to take the children to shelter. The materials mention 124 children who were evacuated to a safe place just moments before a powerful explosion. This is what prevented a tragedy among the pupils and staff.

After the strike, the school building was heavily damaged. The educational process had to be moved to other premises, and some classes were organized in conditions that are hard to call normal: in corridors, temporarily adapted classrooms, and protected spaces. But the community continued its work.

At the end of May, Odessa became the point of several international visits.

On May 31, 2026, the Jewish community of Odessa was visited by the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky. His visit was related to the traditional end of the school year at the “Or Avner” lyceum — a celebration known in Ukraine as “last bell”.

In normal times, such a ceremony takes place in the schoolyard. But after the Russian strike and amid security threats, the event was moved to a protected space. For the children, it was not just a school celebration but a moment of returning to normal life after a night when the shelter literally saved their lives.

The day before, on May 30, 2026, the community was visited by the German ambassador to Ukraine Heiko Toms. He met with the rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine Avraham Wolff, community representatives, and children from “Mishpacha Ukraine”. The focus of the conversation was on helping children, safety, and restoring damaged infrastructure.

During the same days, during the Black Sea Security Forum, which took place in Odessa from May 29 to 31, 2026, the Jewish community was visited by British Lord Henry Byron Davies, Baron Davies of Gower. He arrived at the central historic Chabad synagogue, met with Rabbi Avraham Wolff, and discussed the community’s situation, issues of anti-Semitism, and the security of Jewish institutions in wartime conditions.

In the Israel Hayom article, this story is presented as an example of unusual international solidarity: Israel, Germany, and the United Kingdom showed attention to the Jewish community of Ukraine not at the level of general statements but through specific visits, meetings, and promises of assistance.

For Israel, this topic has a separate significance. Odessa is not just a Ukrainian city on the Black Sea. It is one of the historical centers of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, a city associated with Jewish culture, religious tradition, the Zionist movement, literature, and the destinies of many families whose descendants live in Israel today.

Therefore, the strike on the Jewish school and children’s home in Odessa is not just Ukrainian news. It is a story about children, community, memory, safety, and the connection between Israel and the Jews of Ukraine.

It is especially important that this is not about the past, but about today. In Odessa, Jewish schools, children’s homes, synagogues, humanitarian projects, and community structures continue to operate. They do so under constant alarms, Russian attacks, and destruction, but they do not stop educational and social work.

This is why the publication by Israel Hayom is important for the Israeli audience. It shows that Russia’s war against Ukraine affects not only the front, diplomacy, and big politics. It touches specific Jewish families, children, teachers, rabbis, educators, and communities trying to preserve life, education, and tradition where every day can start with a siren.

The story of Odessa after the strike on April 30, 2026 is a story of how 124 children managed to get to shelter, how the school continued to operate despite the destruction, and how international support became not a symbol but a real moral support for the community.

For Israel, the main question here is simple: do we see Ukrainian Jews only as part of a distant diaspora — or as a community with which we are connected by history, responsibility, and human solidarity.