Israel is expected to patriate some 100,000 Ukrainians through the Law of Return, provide medical treatment to 11 children with complex medical issues.
Israel will host some 25,000 Ukrainian citizens until the danger in their home country passes, Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked announced this week.
Under the plan, Israel will grant the approximately 20,000 Ukrainians already in the country, most illegally, temporary protection from repatriation, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. In addition, Israel will take in another 5,000 Ukrainian refugees.
“Initially, they will be given a temporary visa for three months. Should the fighting continue beyond this time, all those present in Israel will be allowed to work,” the statement said.
All Ukrainians are eligible and can apply through the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Applicants will be subject to a short background check. Israeli citizens will also be able to apply to invite Ukrainian citizens, up to one nuclear family per applicant, according to the statement.
Israel also expects to absorb some 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in the coming weeks and months within the framework of the country’s Law of Return, said Shaked.
“Ukrainians fleeing the war, both those who have a Jewish background and their family, will be able to come to Israel and receive full citizenship. Therefore, Israel is expected to be one of the world’s leading countries of destination and refuge for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war, both in absolute numbers and certainly based on the country’s size,” the statement said.
In addition, 11 Ukrainian children with complex medical issues have arrived in Israel as part of a rescue mission arranged by Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, the hospital announced in a statement.
Schneider staff flew to Kyiv to meet the children and transport them to Israel. The children were transferred from Ben-Gurion International Airport to the hospital’s emergency department, where they are being evaluated and assigned to the appropriate units according to their medical conditions.
Dr. Omer Niv of Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel arrives in the country after transporting 11 sick Ukrainian children to safety on March 8, 2022. (Credit: Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel)
“We at Schneider believe and know that children, wherever they are, are our future in Israel and around the world,” said the hospital’s deputy director, Dr. Efrat Baron-Harlev. “The Schneider team volunteered to help with all their might, in order to take care of all of the physical and emotional needs of the children of Ukraine. We are proud to be part of this delegation and hope for better days.”
Israeli universities are also getting involved, coming to the aid of their Ukrainian students, as well as researchers and students affected by the turbulent situation in the war-stricken country.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has made its psychological services available for students affected by the war in Ukraine, and has invited students and researchers in Ukraine to spend a semester at the university.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has reached out to students of Ukrainian origin who have been affected by the war, offering them immediate academic, emotional and financial support. It is also inviting students and academics from Ukraine to continue their studies or research in Jerusalem for a few months, as well as offering temporary academic posts to Ukrainian academics and graduate students.
Reichman University, formerly known as IDC Herzliya, has 14 students from Ukraine studying at its Raphael Recanati International School. Two are currently in western Ukraine, where the university is keeping in touch with them daily and attempting to help transfer them to safety.
At the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, students affected by the war have been offered emotional support. The university also invited students and academics from Ukraine to spend a year at the institute.
Tel Aviv University, too, has designated a budget to welcome Ukrainian students and researchers to spend the upcoming semester at the university.
In response to the announcement by the Interior Ministry, Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai sent a letter to Cabinet Secretary Shalom Shlomo and asked that the issue of Israel’s refugee absorption policy be raised at the next cabinet meeting.
“On the Polish-Ukrainian border I saw with my own eyes the endless stream of refugees leaving Ukraine,” Shai wrote. “It is a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions. Hundreds of thousands of families have fled. This is a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions. Israel must stand on the right side of history, and give these refugees shelter. A people whose history has included many years of being refugees is not now permitted to shut its eyes in the face of this current refugee crisis.”
By JNS Staff and combined sources
