Occupied Jerusalem -

Israel is racing against time to bring European and Russian Jews to historic Palestine, as it used the war in Ukraine to stimulate immigration, while President Vladimir Putin's announcement of partial fatigue in the Russian army;

With the aim of accelerating the recruitment of Jews from Moscow to Tel Aviv.

Because of the crisis of the Jewish Agency in Moscow and its prosecution by the Russian Ministry of Justice after it was accused of violating privacy laws, Israel deliberately conceals the number of Jews in Russia or the number of Jews who have left Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, while European Commission estimates indicate Half a million Russians have left their country since the invasion of Ukraine.

Despite this, Israel officially disclosed that, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, 25,000 Russian Jews have been brought to Israel, and at least 5,000 Jews are expected to be brought from Moscow in the next three months, according to official statistics issued by the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption. Israeli.

30 thousand Jews have been brought from Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion (Al-Jazeera)

mobilize and mobilize

With President Putin's announcement, a few days ago, about the partial recruitment of the reserve forces and the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of soldiers for the war in Ukraine, the Israeli government began preparations for a mass immigration of Jews from Russia, alleging the "imminent danger to the lives of Jews in Russia" and their desire to escape conscription in the Russian army. .

And the newspaper "Haaretz" reported that since the announcement of the mobilization in the Russian army, requests to come from Russia to Israel have increased by about 30%, in addition to the approved requests, which are estimated at 40,000, while in Ukraine there are 200,000 Jews who meet the conditions of the "Law of Return." About 30,000 people have been recruited to Israel since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine.

According to the newspaper, from the beginning of last year until September 2022, about 60,000 Jewish immigrants were brought to Israel, most of them from Russia, a record number over the past two decades.

But with the expected wave of immigration, according to Israeli estimates, "there will be difficulties in leaving the Russian territory, as men between the ages of 18 and 65 were prevented from leaving and traveling outside the country."

Also, the prices of flights from Russia to Israel rose sharply, as the price of a flight ticket for the family amounted to 13,000 dollars, knowing that two flights depart daily from Moscow to Tel Aviv, and it was not possible to add more flights.


immigration and assimilation

In the context of preparations to bring in a mass immigration wave of Jews from Russia, intensive discussions are taking place between the relevant Israeli government ministries, including the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jewish Agency and the organizations responsible for the assimilation and immigration of Jews, where it is expected that a huge wave of immigration of Russian Jews will occur. to Israel.

The Prime Minister of the transitional Israeli government, Yair Lapid, instructed the various ministries to monitor and allocate budgets in order to absorb the wave of immigration of Jews from Russia and Ukraine. New immigrants of Jews from Russia in particular.

About 25,000 Jews have been brought in from Russia since the start of the war on Ukraine (Al-Jazeera)

Russia and the Jewish Agency

In a position in harmony with the Israeli establishment, the chief rabbi of the Russian capital, Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt, said in an interview with the official Israeli radio station “Kahn” that “the situation in Russia after President Putin announced the mobilization of the Russian army’s reserve forces is getting worse, and therefore, I recommend everyone who can Exit, leave Russian territory.

According to Rabbi Goldschmidt, life in Moscow was normal until Putin announced the recruitment and mobilization of 300,000 reservists, including Jews with Russian citizenship, and accordingly there is a state of great panic among males, especially young men, who will be prohibited from leaving Russian lands.

He explained that there are 40,000 Jews who are allowed by the Law of Return to immigrate to Israel, and are waiting in queues in front of the Tel Aviv embassy in Moscow, noting that the number of Jews in Russia who meet the conditions of the "Law of Return" is estimated at 170,000.

The rabbi expressed his fears that the Russian authorities would hinder their immigration to Israel due to the crisis in the Jewish Agency's activity in Russia, due to accusations of violating privacy laws, according to the lawsuit filed by the Russian Ministry of Justice against the Jewish Agency.


Discussions and criticisms

Israeli estimates indicate that tens of thousands of Jewish and Israeli citizens are in Moscow and want to return to Tel Aviv, knowing that El Al is one of the few international airlines that continued to operate flights to Russia during the war in Ukraine.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, discussions have recently been raised and sharp criticisms have been made of the approach of several government ministries in Israel towards receiving and settling new immigrants from both countries.

"If the budgets and bureaucracy problem is not resolved in a short time, we will have immigrants without homes, do you want us to open tents for them?" said Israeli Minister of Immigration and Absorption Pnina Tamano Shata.

The same position was expressed by Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai, saying, "If we do not bring to Israel as soon as possible all those who are waiting in Russia and Ukraine, we will miss them. They will prefer to go to other countries. We must not forget that there are good conditions awaiting them in the European countries to which they flee." .


Difficulties and obstacles

In an effort to bring in the largest number of Russian Jews, and under the pretext of the presence of large groups of Israelis in Moscow, the Israeli airline "El Al" is looking forward to adding more flights to Moscow.

However, Israel's Channel 12 estimates that there will be difficulties for Jews, males and young people in particular, to leave Russia, as men find it difficult to circumvent the ban on leaving the country.

And circles in the Israeli establishment attributed the difficulties and obstacles in the mass recruitment of Russian Jews, to the exacerbation of the crisis between the Kremlin and Tel Aviv due to the file of the Jewish Agency.

In an attempt to overcome the obstacles and facilitate the recruitment of Russian Jews, Israel proposed settling the file outside the corridors of the courts and the judicial path moved by the Russian Ministry of Justice, which would end with the dissolution of the Jewish Agency in Russia, due to its accusation of violations of privacy laws, which the Israeli government seeks to prevent.