15,000 Ukrainian Jews Have Made Aliyah Since Russian Invasion

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By: Pesach Benson – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

Aliyah, the ingathering of the exiles, has been accelerated by wars and rumors of wars, in particular Russia’s war on Ukraine.

(TPS) Ahead of the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israeli officials reported that in the last year, 15,000 Ukrainian Jews have immigrated to Israel.

The numbers were based on figures provided by the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, and by the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental agency which facilitates Jewish immigration.

According to their figures, 24% were under the age of 18, 405 were 18-35, 37% were 36-65, and 21% were 66 or older.

After Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the  Ministry of Immigration and Jewish Agency launched a “Coming Home” operation, setting up emergency centers at border crossings. Ukrainian men of fighting age have not been allowed to leave the country.

cont’d…

15,000 Ukrainian Jews Have Made Aliyah Since Russian Invasion

One year into the war, the displacement, physically and emotionally, of Ukrainian Jews

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The Russian invasion put Diana Bukman back in touch with her ex-husband in Israel. It also sent her former colleague across the world to Richmond, Va.

By: Mike Wagenheim – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

The term “displaced persons” doesn’t always capture adequately how much of a geographical impact wars have. Diana Bukman, who is now half a world away from a colleague in Ukraine and reconnected in Israel with her ex-husband, knows that all too well.

Moving to Israel was what made her first marriage fall apart. Her then-husband insisted on making aliyah, while she wanted to stay in Ukraine, where she directed a volunteer center in Odessa.

“It was not in my dreams to live in Israel,” she told JNS.

A year ago this month, when Russia invaded, Bukman wanted to stay in Ukraine to help, but her mother insisted that she pack her bags and flee the country with her two children. Her intended destination was Germany, where she could easily find work in her field. But a Jewish Agency bus brought her and her children to Bucharest, Romania.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/one-year-into-the-war-the-displacement-physically-and-emotionally-of-ukrainian-jews/

US lawmakers introduce bills to halt flow of American tax dollars to UNRWA

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Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

“UNRWA’s lengthy and detailed history of promoting anti-Semitism, violence and terrorism through ‘educational’ materials, and its continued ties to Hamas, should completely disqualify this corrupt entity from receiving any U.S. taxpayer funding,” says Rep. Chip Roy.

U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) formally introduced The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Accountability and Transparency Act on Friday, which aims to stop the flow of American taxpayer dollars to that body.

“UNRWA’s lengthy and detailed history of promoting anti-Semitism, violence and terrorism through ‘educational’ materials, and its continued ties to Hamas, should completely disqualify this corrupt entity from receiving any U.S. taxpayer funding,” said Roy when announcing the bill.

“UNRWA has failed to meet previous commitments to stop its hostility towards Israel, and it is an obstacle to peace. Israel is one of our greatest allies and closest friends; we cannot say we truly stand with them while helping prop up a corrupt organization like this. If our actions do not match our words, then our word means nothing,” he added.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/us-lawmakers-introduce-bills-to-halt-flow-of-american-tax-dollars-to-unrwa/

IDF to conclude Operation Olive Branch after saving 19 lives in Turkey

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By: Jerusalem Post Staff; jpost.com

The Foreign Ministry denied on Sunday that the United Hatzalah team sent to provide disaster relief to Turkey following the earthquake left early following a verified security threat.

Israel’s Operation Olive Branch delegation will conclude its rescue operations in Turkey and return to Israel in the coming days, according to a Sunday statement from the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. 

The IDF delegation thus far has been able to rescue a total of 19 people trapped in the rubble in the aftermath of Turkey’s recent devastating earthquake that has already claimed the lives of over 25,000 people. 

Earlier on Sunday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry denied that the United Hatzalah team sent to provide disaster relief to Turkey following the earthquake left early following a verified security threat in the country.

cont’d…

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-731348

‘Request was Received’: Israel to Send Earthquake Relief to Syria as Well as Turkey

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By: Lazar Berman – The Times of Israel; timesofisrael.com

Israel to send tents, medication, blankets, could receive wounded for medical treatment; first of two Israeli teams to head for Turkey tonight; Syria denies asking Israel for help

Israel is sending aid to Syria as well as Turkey as they grapple with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed over a thousand people in the region, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.

Netanyahu said that Israel had received requests through diplomatic channels to assist in Syria, and that aid would be provided there.

“A request was also received to [provide relief] for the many who were injured in the earthquake in Syria,” Netanyahu said, and therefore he has “instructed that this be done.”

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https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-says-israel-will-send-earthquake-relief-to-syria-as-well-as-turkey/

The Ukraine War Starts to Undermine Israeli Security

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By: Jonathan S. Tobin – Jewishs News Syndicate; jns.org

The U.S. decision to strip arms stockpiles stored in the Jewish state to resupply Kiev’s forces in its deadlocked fight with Moscow is a gamechanger. Why is no one protesting?

For the last 11 months, Israel has sought to signal its opposition to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine while avoiding being dragged into a war that compromises its own security and interests. Threading that needle has been a difficult task, but it was an issue on which both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political foe—Yesh Atid Party leader Yair Lapid—have been in agreement.

Nevertheless, Israel is now being made to pay a steep price for the war. The news, broken last week by The New York Times, that the U.S. is emptying the strategic reserve of arms and ammunition it has stored in Israel for Middle East emergencies, as well as for the Jewish state to draw on in the event of its being attacked, marks a turning point.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-ukraine-war-starts-to-undermine-israeli-security/

Netanyahu: Israel Raised $2 Billion in Government Bonds

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Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

“The markets aren’t buying it,” says the Israeli premier regarding claims the government’s planned judicial reform will hurt the country economically.

 The State of Israel has successfully completed a major issue of government bonds, raising $2 billion from international institutional investors, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Sunday.

Demand for bonds had actually reached over $10 billion, he said during Sunday’s Security Cabinet meeting.

“Of course, this completely contravenes the campaign of fear that the media is leading against the government. This is not only a campaign of fear; it appears they hope that they will not invest here,” said Netanyahu.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-israel-raises-2-billion-in-government-bonds/

Where’s the Outrage over Biden Comparing Illegal Immigrants to Holocaust Victims?

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By: Jonathan S. Tobin – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Millions of economic migrants crossing the U.S. southern border want a better life. But most are neither refugees nor analogous to Jews fleeing Nazi slaughter.

After two years of pointedly ignoring a problem largely of his own making, President Joe Biden finally made a brief visit to the U.S. southern border in El Paso, Texas. While there, however, he saw little of the human cost of the catastrophe, as he didn’t meet or see any of the illegal immigrants who have streamed across the border since he assumed office.

But in the days before he arrived for what was little more than a photo op, Biden rekindled a controversy that has been simmering for most of the last decade. The president declared asylum in the United States a “human right”—underlined by the plight of Jews fleeing Nazi Germany.

In so doing, he placed those who believe the collapse of security at the border is a national disgrace and a threat to the security and well-being of the nation in the unfair position of being characterized as heartless, at best. At worst, it makes them reminiscent of antisemites who refused entry to those Jews seeking to escape death during the Holocaust.

The pernicious comparison has been a recurring theme among some on the left. It was amply illustrated by the recent PBS Ken Burns documentary series, “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” which falsely linked present-day opponents of illegal immigration, such as former President Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, to those who closed America’s doors to Hitler’s victims or opposed efforts to rescue Jews.

cont’d…

https://www.jns.org/opinion/wheres-the-outrage-over-biden-comparing-illegal-immigrants-to-holocaust-victims/