Ukrainian Jewish immigrants arrive at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel,
Tomer Neuberg/Flash90Ukrainian Jewish immigrants arrive at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel,

The weekend rebellion in Russia sparks a debate in the Israeli parliament over the future of Russian immigration to the Jewish state

Israeli opposition lawmaker Oded Forer criticized the government over the discontinuation of an accelerated immigration program from Russia. While the cessation was planned months ago, the problem accentuated after events in Moscow on Saturday.

"The Israeli government has abandoned the Jewish community in Russia," stated Forer, who chairs the parliament's Immigration and Diaspora Affairs Committee, on Monday. 

According to the Russian-speaking Yisrael Beiteinu party lawmaker, 13,000 Jewish families are waiting to immigrate. However, the government canceled special assistance and subsidies for immigrants from Russia.

Forer's main critique of the government was regarding the discontinuation of the accelerated program for immigrants from Russia. From the end of June, the service will only be available to those immigrating from Ukraine. 

A representative from the ministry in charge of immigration and absorption told the committee that the situation in Russia "has not worsened over the past month" and therefore there was "no need" to offer potential Russian immigrants a service that was "unusual or different from what existed before.”

The committee, chaired by Forer, called to prepare a fleet of specialized aircraft to rapidly repatriate large numbers of Russian immigrants "before it's too late.” According to Evgeny Sova, another lawmaker from the Yisrael Beiteinu party, the statement stresses that "Israel should not wait until it is forced to send military aircraft to rescue them.”

"We need to invest millions of shekels in urgent measures. This situation is more dramatic than a war," Forer said, “we need special flights.”

“On Saturday, all the tickets were sold out within minutes because they wanted to escape from Russia. We need to reach an agreement with the Russian government to authorize special flights," he added.

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