War in Ukraine: Jewish or non-Jewish Ukrainians, Israel sorts out

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More than 250 Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country have joined the Jewish state in recent days to find refuge there.

However, once they arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, only Jews were allowed to enter the country.

The others were turned away.

Anger of the Ukrainian Embassy, ​​which strongly criticized Israeli officials.

The Israeli Population and Immigration Authority has since modified the conditions for entering the territory.

But it subjects these non-Jewish Ukrainian refugees to strict conditions.

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With our correspondent in Jerusalem,

Main obligation for these Ukrainian refugees in Israel, to leave the territory of the Jewish state as soon as the conflict in their country ends.

To ensure their departure, there is no question of signing them a blank check.

Israel imposes several constraints on them.

A non-Jewish Ukrainian refugee with a first-degree Israeli relative is therefore now allowed to enter the country.

This relative of Israeli citizenship must commit in his name, and ensure the departure of the refugee, when the war is over.

Second scenario: a non-Jewish Ukrainian refugee with no Israeli relatives.

He must find an Israeli citizen who agrees to vouch for him.

The guarantor must post a deposit of 10,000 shekels (nearly €3,000), and also ensure the refugee's departure, as soon as the fighting in Ukraine ends.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Israel did not hesitate to recall that his country had helped the Jews during the Holocaust.

Calling to learn “lessons from the past”.

According to the immigration authority, on Tuesday, before the change in the conditions for entry to Israel, fifty Ukrainian refugees were deported to European countries.

Israel's caution in the Ukrainian conflict

In the war in Ukraine, the Jewish state has adopted a cautious position, emphasizing its good relations with both Ukraine and Russia, the main breeding grounds for aliyah, Jewish immigration to Israel: one million its citizens are from the former USSR, recalls AFP.

At the start of the Russian invasion, Israeli Foreign Minister

condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also recalled Israel's "deep and lasting relations" with both Kiev and Moscow.

In the Middle East, Bashar al-Assad's Russian ally has been present in Syria since 2015. According to Israeli public television, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the Jewish state last week to undertake mediation between the Ukraine and Russia.

Between 6,000 and 8,000 Israelis lived in Ukraine before the Russian invasion, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

One hundred tons of humanitarian aid, including water purification systems and medical equipment, will be sent to Ukraine by Israel, which according to local media has refused to supply arms to Kiev.

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