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Ayelet Shaked

‘Israel poised to absorb 100,000 Jewish Ukrainians, Russians and extended family members

March 7, 2022, 5:12 am Edit
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked speaks at a conference of the Israeli newspaper "Makor Rishon" at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, February 21, 2022. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 *** Local Caption *** כנס מקור ראשון עיתון סופשבוע דתי לאומי איילת שקד שרת הפנים
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked speaks at a conference of the Israeli newspaper "Makor Rishon" at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, February 21, 2022. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90 *** Local Caption *** כנס מקור ראשון עיתון סופשבוע דתי לאומי איילת שקד שרת הפנים

Statement from Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked:

“Since the outbreak of the war, 2,034 Ukrainian nationals have entered Israel. We are on an upward trend. In the first days of the war, there were dozens of Ukrainians who came to Israel but if we look at the past three days:

“On Wednesday, 351 Ukrainian nationals entered Israel. On Thursday, there were 521. Over the weekend, 605 Ukrainians entered the country.

“According to this data and the rate of increase, we are en route to 15,000 Ukrainians by the end of the month, 90% of whom are not eligible to be included under the Law of Return.

“In the coming days, I intend to formulate a clear policy.

”Contrary to what is being said in the media, the State of Israel has a broader policy than almost any Western country that does not share a land border with Ukraine.

“No country in the world, which does not have a visa exemption, has as broad a policy as Israel.

”For example, in Canada, New Zealand, the US and the UK, the policy is not to allow people to board a plane without a visa.

“We are already dealing with 26,000 Ukrainian nationals present in Israel, most of whom are here without a legal status.

”It needs to be said that Israel, contrary to all countries, is prepared for a very large wave, to absorb approximately 100,000 Jews and their extended family members who are eligible under the Law of Return, from both Ukraine and Russia.

“At the moment, Israel is uniquely ready to absorb and give citizenship to the most Ukrainian nationals in the world. There is no other country that absorbs and gives immediate citizenship. This is the very great challenge that awaits us vis-à-vis housing, employment and other areas. We need to focus and be prepared accordingly and deal with the number of humanitarian cases that we will decide on in the coming days.

“It appears that the State of Israel is the western country without a land border with Ukraine that has absorbed the most Ukrainians per capita since the outbreak of fighting.”

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