UJA-Federation Starts Japan Earthquake Relief Fund

UJA-Federation of New York has started the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund to support the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11th.

Donations, which can be made online or by mail, will be used to help people in the area. UJA-Federation will work with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), a beneficiary agency, to distribute funds.

Although the total extent of damage is not yet known, the Japanese government said the earthquake and resulting tsunami have killed thousands, injured many more, and caused massive property damage and evacuations throughout Honshu, the country’s most populous island. The American, Israeli and many other governments have made commitments to provide relief, along with private groups.

John S. Ruskay, executive vice president and CEO of UJA-Federation, said, “As wrenching images and reports come in from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the Pacific Rim, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their family members. Let us pray for the people in Japan who must cope with this natural disaster and its aftermath.”

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake, the largest in Japan’s history and one of the largest in the world in the last century, struck about 250 miles northeast of Tokyo early March 11th. A tsunami with reported waves of more than 20 feet followed.

Hundreds of thousands of people were reported to have been evacuated from the affected areas. Early indications show that Japan’s Jewish community of approximately 1,000 people, most of whom are located in or around Tokyo, has been largely unaffected. But officials from JDC and the Jewish Federations of North America said they were monitoring the situation closely.

UJA-Federation has been involved in many disaster relief efforts in the past, most recently with the 2010 earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.