Ukrainian Refugees Granted Asylum, Thousands Arriving

Ukrainian refugees arriving in Israel will be granted asylum as immigrants fleeing a war zone, along with special financial support in addition to emergency housing provided by the state.

The Immigration and Absorption Ministry announced that new immigrants from Ukraine will qualify for a one-time payment of around NIS 6,000 per immigrant (approximately $1,800), NIS 11,000 ($3,350) for a couple and around NIS 15,000 ($4,580) for a family.

This is a special grant over and above that which any immigrant receives for the first six months in the country, which amount to approximately NIS 19,000 ($5,800) for a single person and NIS 36,000 ($10,995) for a family.

The ministry explained that “the decision to offer a grant to the refugees is due to the fact that the immigrants coming from Ukraine are not prepared for their aliyah – for all that it entails and were forced to leave their home in a hurry and without their belongings.”

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said on Sunday that the rate of refugees is climbing:

“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.”

She said that Israel is “prepared to absorb approximately 100,000 Jews and their extended family members who are eligible under the Law of Return, from both Ukraine and Russia.”

In a rebuff to allegations made by the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel last week, as well as internal critics, that Israel is denying entry to the refugees, Shaked noted that “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 U.S. and the U.K., 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 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,” she concluded in a statement from her office.

A plan for accepting non-Jewish refugees from the war-torn region is to be discussed by the Cabinet on Sunday. Under consideration is a proposal of work visas for a limited number of Ukrainian refugees who are not eligible for immigrant status.

Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli (Labor) demanded that refugees whose status is being reviewed for remaining in Israel be provided with accommodation.

“The Israel Airports Authority staff are making huge efforts and providing food and assistance,” she said. “We must provide them with accommodation that was used for coronavirus patients so that all those whose status is being checked receive decent shelter until the process is complete.”

Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel should be proud of what it is doing and stop such criticism.

“We should be focusing on absorbing Jewish refugees,” he said. “Jews are also refugees. Israel’s job is to absorb those who meet the criteria for aliyah.”

Clearly, altruism has not superseded politics altogether. Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata threatened to resign on Sunday if a project manager would be appointed to handle immigrants from Ukraine instead of her.

She also threatened to resign several months ago when the government’s acceptance of immigrants from Ethiopia was being held up.

Another easement announced by Shaked was the waiver for the next three months of the requirement that new immigrants from Ukraine or Russia provide a state-verified document proving they do not have a police record.

Meanwhile, Israeli authorities reportedly began to move against Russian oligarchs facing sanctions from the U.S. and other countries.

According to media reports, the Airports Authority issued a directive to Ben Gurion Airport staff not to approve long-term parking of private jets belonging to sanctioned Russians, to prevent them from using Israel as a way to bypass sanctions.

A similar order was given to bar them from mooring their yachts at Israeli ports, according to Ynet.

“We must not be seen as a country through which sanctions can be circumvented,” an unnamed Israeli official told the news site.

However, the Israeli government has yet to formulate a policy regarding the sanctions. Channel 12 news said that an inter-ministerial committee will be submitting recommendations to the government on Sunday regarding compliance with the international sanctions against Russia.

In the meantime, there is concern that the Russian oligarchs with Israeli citizenship will hide their assets in Israeli accounts, as the law currently does not prevent them from doing so.

Protests in Israel against the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued, as it has in other countries, though not on a mass scale.

Hundreds of people marched in Tel Aviv on Motzei Shabbos to support Ukraine and protest against the Russian invasion of the country.

They gathered at city’s Habima Square and marched to the Russian embassy, chanting slogans that included: “Israel, make your voice heard!,” “Putin is a fascist” and “Stop the war in Ukraine,” according to The Times of Israel.

About a hundred protesters also gathered outside Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s private residence in Ra’anana.