Hanoch Shalom immigrated to Israel a few weeks after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Five years after he converted to Judaism legally, and while serving as secretary of the country's rabbinical court, he never imagined that a year and a half later he would still not be recognized as a Jew by the Population and Immigration Authority and would not be given the minimum conditions of being a citizen of the State of Israel.
"I converted in 2018," he says. "I served, and still serves, as secretary of the Kiev Rabbinical Court, which is headed by Rabbi Yosef Brodebaker." In March 2022, Hanoch, who has a master's degree in computers, immigrated to Israel like many others and applied for recognition as an Israeli citizen. A few weeks later, he underwent an examination at Nativ and received confirmation from the Chief Rabbinate that he was living in Tzedek. Last December, he went to the Population Ministry, where he was told that within a month he would be officially naturalized. But more than six months have passed since then and nothing has changed.
Does not accept the minimum conditions of a citizen of the State of Israel. Population Authority offices, photo: Gideon Markowitz
In the meantime, Hanoch is staying at the yeshiva where he is studying. He is forbidden to work and is unable to receive national health insurance. Having no other choice, he had to pay a lot of money for private insurance, and once even used a humanitarian clinic at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. "If they hadn't helped me, I would have been left without money or the ability to work normally," he says.
We have about 40 such files, and new people come every day." Leah Aharoni, Photo: Andrea Bernstein
And this is not an isolated case. There are more than 150 conversion files in a similar state of consciousness, for which obtaining citizenship is stuck. Leah Aharoni, executive director of Our People, which accompanies Hanoch, helps many new immigrants who are in a similar situation. "We have about 40 such files, and every day new people arrive," she says in frustration.
"I have family members who submitted all the documents, but in the meantime everything is being delayed. The children won't get medical treatment if they need it, and the father isn't even in Israel. Quite a few people who converted to Judaism in Russia and Ukraine in a kosher manner, by a court recognized by the Chief Rabbinate, and at the Ministry of Population and Immigration their cases dragged on for more than a year. "It's hard for me to recommend that people come to Israel like this, because who knows if they'll get their rights," she adds.
Hanoch, for his part, tries to remain optimistic, and thanks the organization and the people who help him until he receives citizenship. "I have a place to sleep and study. Leah Aharoni and other people are doing holy work, good people who won't let us fall." The Population and Immigration Authority said in response: "Mr. Shalom's request is being processed and will be updated when a decision is made on his case."
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