Like every Jew in the world, I have long held the view that Israel is the only country that welcomed its new citizens as kings and created many opportunities for integration and social support. But when the war in Ukraine began, I understood through numerous testimonials of Ukrainian Jews that something is not right.
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From the first day of the war, there have been many stories about aliyah that turned out to be a sad saga. Some of the stranded Jews in Ukraine had to be moved to temporary facilities, where women, children, and older adults stayed for one or two nights waiting for a bus to an EU country where they could pass the consulate check.
However, Jews on the temporarily occupied territories were wholly cut off from supplies or any assistance from the Jewish organizations. Only a few weeks after the full-scale invasion of the Russian army, volunteers managed to make a dangerous trip to several surrounding cities and bring people out.
There is no doubt that Israel has done a lot for Ukrainian Jews now, but the system of aliyah and Integration has to be seriously improved. First of all, the approach to the emergency was utterly wrong. Israeli authorities might repeat their mistakes once more with the next wave of aliyah from Russia and Belarus. This wave from neighboring Ukraine countries started right after the war began and has increased in scope lately after the announcement about partial mobilization in Russia and a covered call-up in Belarus.
Due to overcome the impending humanitarian crisis, Israeli authorities were supposed to increase the number of flights from Ukraine (lately from Belarus, Russia, and neighboring countries); call up consulates and increase staff; pre-book busses for evacuation (in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia); prepare facilities in Israel instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent high-class hotels in Europe.
Israel has fallen short of those requirements both before the War in Ukraine and in the run-up to the mobilization in Russia. This created a crisis.
Another story is a line to every ministry. Most newcomers deal with a lot of bureaucracy. That is why people are doing different tricks to cheat the system.
The Israeli government has remarkably integrated new repatriates for ages. But since the war began, the State of Israel appeared unready for such an enormous number of olim that needed primary staff, psychological support, and profound assistance in the integration process. This wave of aliyah is not motivated by Zionism or the intention to return to Jewish roots. This aliyah wave is of people who wish to survive. That is why these people need unique attitudes and additional help from behalf of the government.
The reaction of civil society could be an excellent example of how the Israeli government can use the power of the people to solve such crises. Families and individuals could help new olim to integrate into the new life in Israel and can be their first "contact with the country." Volunteers do not ask for money from the government when they act. They only ask for assistance sometimes, and sometimes they ask not to interfere. We often hear from our non-Jewish friends that "Jews in every part of the world are so united and assistive to each other." I wonder why the Jewish State is not using our strength to its full in this regard to help integrate Jews.
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