Up To A Quarter Of Russian Immigrants To Israel May Have Left After Receiving Passports

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    FILE - Russian immigrants (Olim) attend an event marking the 25th anniversary of the great Russian Aliya, immigration, from the former Soviet Union to Israel, at the Jerusalem Convention Center, on December 24, 2015. Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash90

    JERUSALEM (JTA) — Thousands of immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union may have come only to receive an Israeli passport before moving back abroad.

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    The Hebrew weekly Makor Rishon reported that a cottage industry of companies promising expedited Israeli citizenship, and the passport that comes with it, have sprung up in Russia since the passage of a law allowing new immigrants to receive the travel document within the first three months of their aliyah.

    For many in the post-Soviet world, an Israeli passport is considered as desirable as a European Union passport is to Israelis. Russian fixers have started advertising that they can help prospective “olim” obtain “Israeli citizenship within two days” for a cost of thousands of euros.

    Under certain circumstances, the paper reported, the three-month period can be shortened to as little as a day, and some immigrants have even been able to receive their passports without having to leave Ben Gurion International Airport.

    Based on data from Israel’s Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, Makor Rishon estimated that approximately 8,500 emigres from the former FSU have come just for the passport before immediately leaving the country. One Jewish Agency official estimated that about 25 percent of the immigrants came for a passport and “left the country immediately after receiving it.”

    Approximately 10,500 Russians and 6,400 Ukrainians made aliyah in 2018, which was the first year that the majority of new immigrants were not considered Jewish under halacha, or Jewish religious law.


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    6 Comments
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    triumphinwhitehouse
    triumphinwhitehouse
    4 years ago

    these immigrants from FSU usually have Jewish blood unlike the Bantu Ethiopians.

    Zumy
    Zumy
    4 years ago

    Its scary to think that the descendants of the bloodthirsty ukrainian gentiles can exploit israel’s open door policy with such ease.

    a yid
    a yid
    4 years ago

    Ukraine citizen were the biggest numbers besides the German SS to push yidden into gas chambers and smash Jewish infants heads

    PaulinSaudi
    PaulinSaudi
    4 years ago

    None of my business. I wish them all luck & happiness.