By Penny Blumenstein
For millions of Christians and Jews celebrating Easter and Passover this weekend, the name Masha Shumatskaya doesn’t mean much.
But it should.
Penny Blumenstein, the president of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), is a Palm Beach resident.
Because this gentle, 23-year old Jewish woman is the face of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and her journey of trial and deliverance are symbolic of the virtues we celebrate during this season.
When armed men wearing military fatigues and balaclavas over their faces started patrolling the streets of her hometown of Donetsk last year, Shumatskaya knew trouble was on the horizon.