A controversial appeal from a Ukrainian rabbi is drawing attention to the plight of a young Jewish man imprisoned in a foreign country.

Rabbi Yaakov Jan, rabbi of Uman in Ukraine's Cherkasy Oblast, calls on Jews worldwide to help a young Jewish man imprisoned in Ukraine - even as he strongly condemns his actions.

This month, the rabbi issued a handwritten letter calling on Jews around the world to help the man secure his release.

What makes the letter particularly striking is that Rabbi Jan does not attempt to justify or excuse the young man's actions.

Quite the opposite.

In the letter, translated from the original Hebrew, Rabbi Jan writes:

“The people of Israel are merciful, so I dare to request their help for a young man who got involved in certain actions. I strongly denounce his behavior - and yet - he is still a Jew. God forbid that he should endure what they have in store for him."

The rabbi's message is both clear and deeply unusual: wrongdoing cannot simply be ignored, but neither can the suffering of a fellow Jew.

The young man is currently incarcerated in a foreign country, separated from his wife and children. His family is now facing the consequences alongside him, desperately hoping that he can be brought home.

“It is very hard to stand aside and not ask for assistance on his behalf," Rabbi Jan writes, “God should forgive his sins."

Click here to free a fellow Jew.

The rabbi's appeal comes at a critical moment. Efforts are underway to secure the young man's release, but the campaign has raised only a small portion of the funds needed to continue the process.

For his wife and children, this is not an abstract legal matter. It is their husband and father; someone they are desperately waiting to see walk through the door again.

Rabbi Jan's letter makes the point powerfully: even when a person has made serious mistakes, he remains a Jew.

The campaign urgently needs support to continue the efforts to secure his release.

Please help free a Jewish father from imprisonment and give his wife and children hope of seeing him home again.

Click here to free a fellow Jew.