Israel Dusts Off Evacuation Plans for Ukrainian Jews

YERUSHALAYIM
Workers unload a shipment of military aid delivered as part of the U.S.’s security assistance to Ukraine, at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday. (Ukrainian Defense Ministry/Handout via REUTERS)

As the world braces for a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israeli officials met on Sunday to discuss possible evacuation of Jewish communities under threat in the region, Haaretz reported.

While there has been no significant rise in the number of Ukrainian Jews requesting to emigrate to Israel, there is concern that in the event of a major conflict and the ensuing dislocations, thousands of Jews may seek shelter in Israel.

The meeting included representatives from the National Security Council, the Prime Minister’s Office, the foreign, defense, transport and diaspora affairs ministries, as well as the Jewish Agency and Nativ, the secretive government organization that maintains connections between Israel and Jews in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

There are an estimated 75,000 Ukrainians in the eastern regions of the country, in and around the cities of Odessa, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk, who would be eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.

Israel and major Jewish organizations are reportedly in close contact with both the Russian and Ukrainian governments and say that both sides are anxious to avoid the impression that Jewish communities are not safe under their jurisdiction.

However, there are contingency plans that have existed for over 30 years, since the end of the 1980s when the Soviet government began allowing Jews to emigrate in large numbers, for emergency airlifts in crisis conditions. These are now being updated, Haaretz said.

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