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"War May Not End": New Immigrants from Ukraine Excited But Sad | Israel today

2022-06-21T19:18:13.813Z


"Our whole city was destroyed," Andrei and Antalya say, just minutes before they boarded a plane to Israel.


The war in Ukraine has already become routine, and no longer fills the front pages of newspapers and television headlines.

Nevertheless, the fighting continues in large areas of the country and continues to cause human suffering.

As global attention diminished, the challenge of continuing aid efforts increased, and against this background, a volunteer delegation from Club 2141 arrived in Warsaw this week - an organization of reserve company commanders who decided to enlist in the effort and help bring Jews out of the country.

"This is our fifth delegation and now the challenges are different but no less," says Elior ("Dubchek") Dor, a former armored lieutenant colonel who runs the club. "In the first delegations we helped refugees - Jews and non-Jews alike - and there was great logistical chaos.

About 1.4 million refugees from Ukraine flowed to Poland, but in the meantime many of them returned to the areas where the fighting had ceased, and the Polish authorities also managed to organize nicely and set up organized camps for refugees.

That is why this time we are focusing on logistical assistance for the operation to bring the Jews to Israel. "

At the height of the aliyah operation, more than 2,000 immigrants were in Warsaw at the same time, but the Jewish Agency has a small staff of less than ten workers in the city.

Along with the logistical challenges, the agency's staff also face the questioning of immigrants and the treatment of those whose immigration applications are denied, since they do not meet the conditions of the Law of Return.

"We do not throw anyone into the street, even if it turns out that he is not entitled to immigrate to Israel," says agency man Avi Ofir.

"The percentage of refusals is very small because we are conducting an initial survey already in Ukraine, but when it becomes clear that someone is not eligible to immigrate to Israel we find an arrangement through local aid organizations with whom we are in contact."



Club 2141 on the way to Ukraine,

To deal with the load, the agency uses voluntary organizations such as Club 2141. "There is no task that is in our honor - if necessary we will also load luggage on the buses and drive the elderly in wheelchairs," says Peter Gizonterman, a native of Ukraine and a former paratrooper who now runs a large real estate company. In Houston, Texas, and came specifically from the U.S. to Warsaw to assist in the operation organized by Club 2141. "We are soldiers of the great goal which is to assist the new immigrants."

The immigrants themselves come from all over Ukraine - also from Mariupol, Luhansk and the areas where fighting is still raging, but also from Kiev, Lvov and western Ukraine which is relatively safe at the moment.

"There is an understanding among the immigrants that the war is not going to end soon, that this situation may last for years and that the fighting may reach other areas that are currently quiet," says Ofir.

Andrei and Natalia on their way to Israel,

"We are from Kharkiv and our city was almost completely destroyed in the war," say Andrei and Natalia, a couple of new immigrants in their sixties.

"For years we dreamed of immigrating to Israel but could not because of family circumstances, and now, against the background of the war, we decided to fulfill the dream. We have never visited Israel but we have a family in the Galilee landscape and we are already looking forward to getting there and starting a new life in Israel."

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-06-21

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