Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 7, 2022

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Israel braced itself for a major spike in immigration from the country under attack. What it did not expect was an even greater wave of immigration from the country that launched the war.

Internal government figures obtained by Haaretz show that the number of immigrants and potential immigrants landing in Israel from Russia in the past two months far exceeds the number of immigrants and potential immigrants from Ukraine.

The figures were compiled by the National Security Council, which operates under the auspices of the Prime Ministers Office and has been tasked with assessing the potential for aliyah, or immigration to Israel, from Ukraine and Russia given the state of war between the two countries.

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The figures reveal that since the start of the war on February 24 and until the middle of this week, a total of 8,371 immigrants and potential immigrants from Ukraine have landed in Israel. Of this total, 3,621 had already been approved for aliyah and came with immigrant visas, while 4,750 were given special permission to come to Israel based on initial indications that they qualified for aliyah under the Law of Return and complete all the required paperwork once they landed.

Because immigrants coming from Russia are not eligible for this special aliyah express track, those who prefer not to wait months to complete their paperwork have been arriving in Israel on tourist visas and starting the process upon arrival.

According to the NSC figures, a total of 12,593 immigrants and potential immigrants from Russia have landed in Israel since the start of the war. Of these, 2,450 had already been approved for aliyah and came with immigrant visas, while 10,143 arrived on tourist visas.

For comparison's sake, in all of 2021, only 7,700 Russians made Aliyah.

According to a senior official involved in aliyah, the government estimates that more than 90 percent of the Russian arrivals are eligible for aliyah under the Law of Return. There is no reason for them to come to Israel, of all places, unless they are eligible for aliyah, considering how many other countries they can go to, the official said.

As proof, the official noted that thousands had already set up appointments at local branches of the Interior Ministry to change their status from tourist to immigrant. Because of this flood of requests for status change, there are currently no appointments available at Interior Ministry branches for months.

Israeli officials based in Russia have also reported a huge increase in the number of aliyah files being opened there. The officials are reluctant to speak publicly about the large number of Jews fleeing Russia for fear that the Russian authorities might try to stop them.

The exodus has been attributed mainly to fears of economic hardship arising from the harsh global sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine.

Dramatic slowdown

This surge in immigration from Russia coincides with a dramatic slowdown in the pace of aliyah from Ukraine. A key indicator is the sharp decline in the number of Jewish refugees from Ukraine awaiting flights to Israel at special facilities set up for them by the Jewish Agency in western Ukraine and several bordering countries.

As of midweek, there were just over 1,300 refugees being sheltered in these facilities in Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Ukraine. In mid-March, there were more than 3,200.

The number of organized flights carrying Ukrainian refugees to Israel has dropped as well. Last week, the Jewish Agency ran 10 organized flights, while this week there were only five. Not all refugees from Ukraine have been arriving in Israel on these organized flights, however; some though only a small share have been arriving independently or with the help of private organizations.

This week, Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata predicted that a total of somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 immigrants from Ukraine and Russia would arrive in Israel by the end of June. Given current aliyah trends from Ukraine at least, that seems unlikely.

It is premature to analyze a mega-event still taking place, but what we can say is that while the total number of refugees fleeing Ukraine is growing, the pace has slowed down maybe because the fighting is not as severe, said Yigal Palmor, head of international relations at the Jewish Agency. And this affects the number of Jews leaving as well.

He noted that many of those Ukrainians eligible for aliyah have been reluctant to leave their homeland because this would entail separating their families. The Ukrainian authorities are not allowing men aged 18 to 60 to leave the country, with only a few exceptions.

Those who have been predicting an aliyah of hundreds of thousands will definitely have to give some explanations, Palmor added.

One flight a week

The International Fellowship for Christians and Jews an organization active in bringing Jews from Ukraine to Israel in recent years set up a special office in Moldova a month ago to assist Jewish refugees fleeing from the nearby city of Odessa.

In the past seven to 10 days, we have witnessed a drastic drop in the number of Jewish refugees crossing the border here in Moldova from hundreds a day to a trickle of 20 to 30, said Benny Hadad, head of aliyah operations at the Fellowship.

The Fellowship had been operating six refugee flights a week to Israel soon after the war broke out. This week, said Hadad, there were only two flights, and only one is scheduled for next week.

Hadad attributed the drop in aliyah to the fact that those Jews who wanted to leave Ukraine had already gotten out. That doesnt mean were packing up here, he said, noting that the situation across the border was still very dynamic.

According to the Law of Return, any individual with at least one Jewish grandparent as well as that individuals immediate family is eligible to immigrate to Israel and receive automatic citizenship. Some 200,000 Ukrainians are believed to be eligible for aliyah under the Law of Return, although the countrys core Jewish population individuals who identify as Jewish and affiliate with no other religion is estimated at only about 43,000. The potential for aliyah from Russia is, therefore, much greater. About 600,000 Russians are believed to be eligible, and the core Jewish population of that country is estimated at 200,000.

A report commissioned by the Jewish Agency and submitted this week lists some of the reasons Ukrainian refugees who are eligible for aliyah have not exercised their right to immigrate. These include their not identifying as Jewish or being aware that they are eligible; the high cost of transportation to Israel compared with transportation to countries in Europe, as well as the lack of awareness that they are eligible for free flights to Israel; the perceived high cost of living in Israel compared with even wealthy European countries; the perceived poor security situation in Israel, especially in recent weeks; and the fact that many of these refugees hope to return to Ukraine as soon as possible, which makes Europe a better place to wait out the war.

In many cases, it still appears that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages and that most of those who would potentially make aliyah have already done so or are in the process of it, concluded the report, which was prepared by the intelligence division of Tel Aviv-based Max Security Solutions.

See the article here:

Ukraine war has caused a huge surge in aliyah to Israel from Russia - Haaretz

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