Israel is preparing for a possible influx of Russian Jews following the decision by Russian president Vladimir Putin to order a partial military mobilisation.
Immigration minister Pnina Tamano-Shata said demand is already rising.
“We see more requests from Russia to immigrate. I follow the community and the ministry is doing its best to make sure all those wishing to can arrive safely, despite challenges,” she said.
Under Israel’s Law of Return any Jew around the world has an automatic right to immigrate to Israel and the country prides itself on providing a safe haven for Jewish communities in distress.
“We will absorb as many new immigrants from Russia as possible. No matter how many arrive, we will look after them and have already begun trying to secure hotels for their first landing in our country,” Ms Tamano-Shata said.
Over the past few months, approximately 2,000 new immigrants from Russia and Belarus have been arriving in Israel each month. There are approximately 40,000 Jews ready to fly to Israel but all available flights for the next few months are full.
Israel is seeking to allow larger aircraft on the routes to Russia to bring more people but the authorities in Moscow have refused.
Another issue is the recent decision by Russian authorities to restrict the operations of the Jewish Agency, an organisation facilitating and encouraging Jewish immigration to Israel.
Russian Jews arrived in significant numbers when the war broke out earlier this year, along with many of Ukraine’s Jewish community who were fleeing the fighting.
Opponents of Putin’s regime sought shelter in Israel, including Russia’s chief rabbi, Pinchas Goldschmidt, who had spoken out against the war.
Israel is one of the only countries that continues to operate direct flights to and from sanctioned Russia, and has increased the number of flights to the country. Nevertheless, tickets are not always easy to come by and prices have skyrocketed since the announcement earlier this week of a partial mobilisation.
The director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, Alon Ushpiz, said the authorities are preparing for an influx of Russian Jews.
“Prime minister Yair Lapid has instructed us to accept new immigrants from Russia. This requires assessments on many levels, from flights to entry visas and reception facilities. We work in full co-operation with the government ministries, our people at the Russian embassy, and of course El Al [Israel’s national air carrier] that flies to Russia,” he said.
“My ministry is preparing for a large-scale immigration wave,” the minister said and added that the number of flights from Russia is set to increase.
