300 Ukrainian refugees to make Aliyah on Sunday

One flight will arrive from Warsaw, with about 150 immigrants rescued with the help of Jewish Agency personnel.

 Jewish refugees from Kyiv arrive at a refugee camp 100 kilometers west, closer to the Polish border, February 24, 2022.  (photo credit: UKRAINIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY)
Jewish refugees from Kyiv arrive at a refugee camp 100 kilometers west, closer to the Polish border, February 24, 2022.
(photo credit: UKRAINIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY)

Three flights are scheduled to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport Sunday bringing about 300 Jews from Ukraine.

These immigrants were temporarily housed in immigration centers opened by the Jewish Agency and the Fellowship in countries bordering Ukraine.

The flights are sponsored by the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, the Jewish Agency, and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews,(IFCJ), funded by donations from Jewish Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod and Christian donors.

Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata, Jewish Agency Acting Chairman Yaakov Hagoel and IFCJ President Yael Eckstein will greet about 100 new immigrants on a flight that is scheduled to land at 5 p.m.

One flight will arrive from Warsaw, with about 150 immigrants rescued with the help of Jewish Agency personnel.

 Israelis protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine in front of the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)
Israelis protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine in front of the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

Half the immigrants on the flight are women, and there are also about 50 children and youth, including six babies. It includes 24 men, most of them not of conscription age, between 18 to 60.

Since February 24, the Jewish Agency call centers have received some 15,000 requests, more than 5,000 about immediate aliyah. About 1,500 Jewish refugees are currently living at the refugee camps of the Jewish Agency and the IFCJ preparing to immigrate.

These camps are based in hotels in Moldova, Poland, Hungary and Romania. The Jewish Agency has 3,500 beds reserved in hotels and facilities around Ukraine and continues to locate more places.

The Aliyah and Integration Ministry decided to recognize those coming from Ukraine as immigrants fleeing a war zone, meaning that they will receive a one-time additional grant.

According to the decision, every immigrant who comes from Ukraine will receive a one-time grant of about NIS 6,000. A couple will receive NIS 11,000 and a family will receive NIS 15,000.

The ministry has been allocated about 12,000 hotel rooms in cooperation with the Israel Hotels Association, guest houses and other housing throughout the country, between 2,000-3,000 in the north, and 6,000 in the center of the country.