Minister Nachman Shai: "Approaching a crisis point in Israel-Diaspora relations" | Israel today

The state refrains from initiating a process that will allow Diaspora Jews to visit Israel during the Corona period, due to the very sensitive political and legal aspects involved in such a permit, according to the head of the Population and Immigration Authority, Tomer Moskowitz, in the Knesset's Law, Constitution and Justice Committee.

Moskowitz stressed that in about two weeks the issue will be re-examined, depending on the morbidity situation in Israel and the question of whether the country will continue to be cut off from the world or whether the sky will reopen, as it was before the Omicron wave.

PM Bennett // Photo: Mark Israel Salem,

This comes in the wake of repeated calls from Jewish organizations around the world, as well as by Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai, to allow Jews from around the world to come to Israel during the epidemic, even though they do not have Israeli citizenship.

Earlier this week, Minister Shai appealed to the prime minister to find a solution to the problem.

"We are approaching a crisis point in Israel-Diaspora relations," Minister Shai told Israel Today, adding that "we have the means to maintain the health of Israeli citizens, even without closing the country's borders to the entry and exit of world Jews. It is time to consider The peripheral damage that may be caused to our relationship with Diaspora Jewry. "

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett recently promised the heads of the Jewish federations of North America that he would work to find a solution to the crisis.

"We will do everything we can to open borders and allow regular visits by Jews from around the world to Israel," Bennett wrote to President and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), Eric Fingerhut.

"Global Jewish Family"

He added: "I deplore all the grief inflicted on members of the community, who are a precious asset to the global Jewish family of which we are all a part. The close connection between Israel and the Jewish community around the world is a fundamental value in Israel. "The Jews of North America in Israel, and we are also aware of the thousands of citizens who planned to visit their families, hold bar mitzvah events, weddings and more, and for them the step taken (closing the sky, etc.) was a severe blow."

Minister Nachman Shai (Archive),

Jewish officials from across the political spectrum in the United States told Israel Today that the state must find an arrangement that will reflect Israel's Jewish status, and allow them to visit the country even when the skies are closed due to the plague waves.

However, senior government officials, who are involved in the details of the issue with Diaspora Jewry, told Israel Today that precisely because of the widespread use of the issue, it is better to avoid dealing with it as much as possible.

"In two or three weeks it will be clear whether to reopen the sky or go for something longer," says a senior official.

He said, "If we return to a state of open skies, as it was before the outbreak of the omicron disease, there will be a solution for Diaspora Jews as well. If not, we will have to look for solutions, Necessity to do so, it is better not to get into a situation where the Nationality Law and the Law of Return are up for public discussion and jurisdiction of the High Court.

Nobody knows what the outcome of such discussions will be, and it is better to think one step further. "

Yocheved Levin

London "Absurd that I can not be with my daughter after giving birth"

Yocheved Levin, a Jewish resident of London, was satisfied when her daughter, Miriam (22), immigrated to Israel less than a year ago.

She even considered making aliyah herself in a few years - but after the delays imposed on her and the lack of assistance she encountered recently, when she tried to enter Israel ahead of the birth of her granddaughter - she is no longer really interested in it.

Her daughter, meanwhile, gave birth at a good time last week, and the alliance is scheduled for this coming Sunday.

Yocheved Levin,

"Miriam is alone in Israel, without anyone from her nuclear family," Yocheved shares, "it is absurd and abnormal. I have lost hope."

In fact, the mother submitted an application to all the relevant parties and also tried her luck at the consulate in London.

I did not receive a human response - except for the Yad LaOlim organization, which helped as much as it could.

It makes no sense.

If it was related to health no one could have come, but that is not the reason.

I was vaccinated in three doses.

Something here is dirty and inappropriate. "

The Israeli conduct caused Yocheved a heavy disappointment.

"A year ago I thought that maybe Israel is a place to live for the Jewish people, but now - in the way the state behaves, why would people want to come to a country that does not care? The state takes the joy from the person instead of relieving it and causing irrational stress. ? "

According to Yocheved, "My daughter is in pain and needs the support of her parents up close, certainly in an event that is all happy. My little daughter has considered making an aliyah as well - and after this case she is not enthusiastic at all. Immediate policy change. "

M. Dreyfus |

Immigrant from France "My father will not be able to reach an alliance, it's delusional"

When M. Dreyfus (32) immigrated from France in the middle of the previous decade, she faced a series of personal challenges related to absorption difficulties.

The Hebrew language soon took over, and her work as the director of a programming school, which assists in the absorption of new immigrants in the country, testifies to its rapid absorption and strong character.

Dreyfus,

But especially today, when she is in her first pregnancy (pregnancy at risk, and in an advanced stage) - she is helpless in the face of the knowledge that her father will not get to the intended circumcision.

"My father lives in Lyon, France, and by all indications he will not be able to be present. Not that in my opinion an immigrant to Israel needs special reasons so that his parents can visit him, but I will emphasize that my father is vaccinated three times and has Israeli citizenship. He served in the army. When he left Ben Gurion Airport, he was told that he would not be able to return to Israel for at least 90 days - without any explanation as to why this number was given, and at the moment there was nothing to do. "Her 95-year-old grandmother will not be able to attend the event.

"I am very frustrated. As a citizen it was difficult for him to enter in previous times and now, when he managed to enter this year, why was the 90-day threshold set for us if we met? This is a scandal. I am pregnant at risk and have many pressures. More unnecessary pressure? "

Ariel Kendel, CEO of Kelita (the umbrella organization of French immigrants in Israel): "The corona has severely harmed Diaspora Jews and caused a crisis of confidence in the State of Israel.

"Jews in the Diaspora who have been contributing to Israel for years have discovered since the outbreak of the Corona crisis that, with a few exceptions, entry to the country is only allowed to civilians."

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