Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata revealed on Monday that since the beginning of operation Immigrants Come Home, over 25,000 new olim have arrived in Israel from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Moldova.
Aliyah success
“With great pride, I’m happy to announce that we’ve passed the 25,000 thresholds of immigrants in this operation. This proves that the State of Israel is a warm and safe home for all Jews in distress. We continue to make great government efforts to absorb the new immigrants in the best possible way.”
According to the ministry, “since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, a broad national and governmental effort to rescue and absorb new immigrants from Ukraine and neighboring countries, has led to thousands of new immigrants choosing to come to Israel.”
Most of the new immigrants received temporary housing in hotels and later dispersed to various cities, closely accompanied by the ministry and local authorities.
The most receptive cities since the beginning of the operation have been Haifa (2,707 new immigrants), Netanya (2,438 new immigrants) and Tel Aviv-Jaffa (2,324 new immigrants).
EU conference
Tamano-Shata will leave on Monday for Brussels, and speak on Tuesday at the European Parliament conference on “The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine: Israel’s efforts and experience in the absorption of refugees and the EU effort.”
The conference, which was initiated by the Association of Jewish Organizations in Europe (EJA), will be attended by dozens of members of parliament and senior officials, including the Ukrainian ambassador to the European Union. During her visit, Tamano-Shata will meet with Nicola Beer, vice president of the European Parliament and the special envoy on combating religious discrimination, including antisemitism, Olivér Várhelyi, European commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement. She will also meet Brussels’ Chief Rabbi Avraham Gigi.
Tamano-Shata said that “most of the new immigrants have been absorbed into permanent housing, and these days, the ministry, in cooperation with the labor and employment services, is integrating the new immigrants into the labor market through a variety of customized training programs. We will do everything so that they will soon integrate into Israeli society. “
"I will share our vast experience from historical to 21st-century aliyah operations."
Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata
Recent immigration
On Sunday, The Jerusalem Post revealed that about 5,000 Jews have immigrated to Germany from Ukraine since the Russian invasion, according to Dr. Felix Klein, the federal government’s commissioner for Jewish life in Germany.
An Israeli rabbi serving in Germany many years said Sunday that “... it is, unfortunately, a loss for the State of Israel...These are people who dreamed of making aliyah, didn’t succeed and then called me and asked for assistance to bring them to Germany.” In his opinion, the Israeli government and national institutions “aren’t running the operation” the best way.