Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Minister of Immigration and Absorption, Pnina Temano-Sheta, announced yesterday that Meir Spiegler will be appointed head of the national task force for the absorption of immigrants from Ukraine and Russia, in Israel.
Spiegler (63) currently serves as the director general of the National Insurance Institute, a busy position in any case. In the past, he served as director general of the Jewish National Fund and director general of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Jewish and Nativ, and subordinate to the Prime Minister.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett welcomed the appointment and said that "Meir is a man of action, who serves the State of Israel in a number of positions in the public sector.
Together, we will fulfill this sacred mission this time as well. "
But alongside this, other voices were also heard yesterday, including from veteran immigrants from the USSR and various groups that unite them, that the government did not find it appropriate to appoint a person who immigrated from the USSR to the position of "aliyah projector."
According to them, they could choose for the position from a long line of personalities who had previously held public positions, and who had experienced firsthand the difficulties of immigration and absorption and also spoke the Russian language.
A prominent activist in the field of aliyah, who is currently assisting immigrants, said: "It is a pity that out of more than a million Israelis who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union over the years, they have not been able to locate a single person who understands aliyah and absorption."
He added: "This is a certificate of poverty for the absorption of the previous aliyah, which failed to put up a senior and sufficiently relevant public servant to absorb the new aliyah. I hope we do not fall into the same pits we have entered in the past. We must learn from mistakes, not repeat them."
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