They seek to rescue Holocaust survivors in Ukraine

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Since the escalation of artillery fire on Keiv and Kharkiv two weeks ago, Julia Entin is feverishly working thousands of miles away in Los Angeles to evacuate survivors of the Holocaust in Ukraine who are now caught up in another conflict.

Over the past six years, the 39-year-old legal intern at Bet Tzedek Legal Services has helped link Holocaust survivors with local services. Now, Entin is coordinating rescue actions in Ukraine because he claims to feel a personal connection with those people because of his painful predicament.

“These people are survivors of a terrible trauma,” said Entin, a refugee from the former Soviet Union and granddaughter of a Ukrainian Holocaust survivor. “And now with this war, they are again experiencing that trauma.”

Entin is a thread in an intricate network of local Jewish and non-Jewish organizations dedicated 24 hours a day to remove members of vulnerable communities from conflict zones in Ukraine, for which they work with taxi and bus operators.

In a time of crisis in which Jews in Ukraine are trying to flee to Europe and Israel, groups like the Jewish Federation in Los Angeles and others like Entin, have helped families in the United States who want to rescue their loved ones.

Many of those families, Entin said, have communicated with her directly because of her actions on behalf of Holocaust survivors.

Entin has been calling survivors in Ukraine, usually with a family member or friend next door.

It can be difficult to quickly establish a relationship with older people, many of whom have serious health problems, who are crowding in their homes during this time of war.

Entin begins by apologizing for speaking in Russian and not Ukrainian.

“I identify myself and tell them who I am: the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor,” she said. “I tell you that my grandfather was not evacuated and how he lived (World War II) under Nazi occupation. A deep connection is established. And that helps build trust.”

Entin still faces difficulties in getting survivors to leave with trusted taxi or bus operators who were investigated and recruited through referrals.

This week, a man just under 90 years old refused to leave because he feared he might die on the way.

“Convincing him has been a real challenge because it cannot be guaranteed, no one can guarantee, that nothing will happen,” he said.

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