About Kanfei Emuna
A Jewish rescue mission born in Ukraine’s war
Kanfei Emuna, Wings of Faith, is a Jewish rescue organization helping Jews move from danger to safety during the war in Ukraine.
Founded by Yitzhak and Hodaya Halfon, Kanfei Emuna began with urgent calls from Jewish families, elderly people, Holocaust survivors, people with disabilities, young men in danger, and vulnerable individuals who had no clear way out.
What started as a family responding to desperate pleas for help became a full rescue mission, working across Ukraine, Moldova, Israel, and beyond to help Jews escape danger, reach safety, and rebuild their lives.
Since the beginning of the war, Kanfei Emuna has helped bring more than 5,400 Jews toward safety.
Kanfei Emuna, Wings of Faith | Israeli NGO #580755437 | USD donations are tax-deductible in the U.S. through The Foundation for Non Profit Advancement, 501(c)(3), EIN 93-4483629 | Certificate of Proper Management 2026
How It Began
When the war in Ukraine began, Yitzhak and Hodaya Halfon saw from close range what many people far away could not see.
Jewish families were trapped in cities under attack. Elderly people were unable to leave on their own. Holocaust survivors were left in apartments without reliable power, heat, medicine, or family support. Mothers and children were trying to cross borders without documents. Young Jewish men were facing urgent danger. People with medical conditions, disabilities, and complex family situations were suddenly caught inside a war they could not escape.
The calls did not come as organized files or simple requests. They came as frightened messages, late-night phone calls, urgent referrals, and impossible questions.
Can you get my mother out?
Can you help my son?
Can someone bring food?
Can someone reach them before it is too late?
Can you help us get to Israel?
Yitzhak and Hodaya began answering those calls. They coordinated transport, found drivers, helped with documents, arranged temporary shelter, worked with local communities, supported people at borders, and stayed involved long after the first rescue was complete.
One case led to another. One family led to another. One name became an entire world.
Kanfei Emuna grew from that moment, not as a project planned in an office, but as a mission born from the field.
What We Do
Kanfei Emuna helps Jews in danger move from crisis toward safety.
Our work includes:
Emergency rescue coordination
Ground transportation and evacuation support
Medical evacuations and special-needs transport
Legal and humanitarian case support
Help with documents and travel coordination
Temporary shelter and kosher food
Border and aliyah assistance
Support after arrival in Israel
Ongoing care for complex and vulnerable cases
Some cases are simple. Many are not.
We work with elderly people, Holocaust survivors, people with disabilities, mothers and children, isolated Jews, families with missing documents, young men facing urgent danger, and people caught between war, bureaucracy, illness, fear, and uncertainty.
Kanfei Emuna does not only move people from one place to another. We stay with the case until there is a real path forward.
Why This Work Is Different
Many Jews who turn to Kanfei Emuna are not simply asking for transportation.
They may be trapped in a dangerous region. They may lack the documents needed to leave. They may be elderly, confused, sick, or unable to travel alone. They may be facing legal complications, medical emergencies, family breakdowns, or situations too sensitive to describe publicly.
Some cases involve people who have been abandoned. Some involve people who are being pressured, threatened, or blocked. Some involve Jews whose status, documents, family situation, or medical condition makes every step more complicated.
That is why Kanfei Emuna’s work requires more than a bus ticket.
It requires field knowledge, discretion, legal and humanitarian coordination, trusted contacts, language skills, Jewish sensitivity, and the ability to act quickly when a rescue window opens.
We do not treat people as numbers. Behind every request is a Jewish life, a family, and an entire world.
Pidyon Shvuyim and Emergency Rescue
In Jewish life, Pidyon Shvuyim, redeeming those trapped in danger, is one of the most urgent responsibilities.
For Kanfei Emuna, this responsibility is not only an idea. It is the reality we face every week.
It means standing with Jews who are trapped by war, blocked by circumstances, threatened by danger, abandoned in crisis, or unable to reach safety without urgent help.
Our role is practical, responsible, and deeply human: emergency coordination, lawful document and travel support, legal and humanitarian advocacy, safe transport, shelter, medical assistance, and continued care after rescue.
We do this work with discretion, caution, and respect for the safety and dignity of every person involved.
Lives Brought to Safety
Since the beginning of the war, Kanfei Emuna has helped rescue and support thousands of Jews, including elderly people, Holocaust survivors, people with disabilities, mothers, children, young men in danger, and families who had nowhere else to turn.
5,400+
Jews helped toward safety
220+
Evacuation routes and rescue transports
700+
Medical and special-needs cases
These numbers are not statistics to us. Every number represents a person, a family, a story, and a moment when help had to arrive in time.
From Rescue to Rebuilding
Reaching safety is not always the end of the story.
Many rescued Jews arrive in Israel with medical needs, trauma, missing documents, no stable housing, no family support, or no clear next step.
Some need help with government offices. Some need food, clothing, transportation, or medical appointments. Some need someone to stay involved until they can truly begin again.
Kanfei Emuna continues to support vulnerable people after rescue, helping them move from emergency survival toward stability, dignity, and a new life in Israel.
Our mission is not only to get Jews out of danger. It is to help them come home.
Trust and Accountability
Kanfei Emuna is a registered Israeli nonprofit organization working with recognized partners, rabbinic leaders, Jewish communities, humanitarian contacts, and field teams in Ukraine, Moldova, Israel, and abroad.
We are committed to using donations responsibly for rescue operations, transportation, legal and humanitarian coordination, documents, medical support, temporary shelter, kosher food, and continued care for Jews in danger.
Registered Israeli NGO: 580755437
Certificate of Proper Management: 2026
U.S. donations: processed through the designated U.S. giving route listed on our donation page
Contact: office@kanfei-emuna.org
Kanfei Emuna’s work has been recognized and supported by Jewish communities, rabbinic leaders, public officials, rescue partners, and media coverage around the world.
Stand With Us
Kanfei Emuna was born from one simple truth: when a Jew is in danger, we cannot look away.
The calls are still coming. The cases are still urgent.
The windows for rescue can open and close quickly.
Your support gives Kanfei Emuna the ability to respond immediately, before a situation becomes impossible.
Help us rescue the next Jew in danger.
"Over 5,400 Jewish lives rescued – because in our story, no Jew is left behind."