‘ Let relatives into Israel to visit new immigrants’

MK Yorai Lahav Hertzanu of Yesh Atid- Telem has called on Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina TamanoShata to allow new immigrants to leave the country in order to see close family, and to allow such family members into the country.

Due to the current lockdown and COVID- 19 restrictions, entry into the country is blocked to non- Israeli nationals and Israelis themselves cannot, for the most part, leave the state if they had not already bought a ticket before the restrictions began.

In an appeal to Deri and Tamano- Shata, the opposition MK noted that new immigrants, counted as such for ten years after they immigrate to Israel, often have little family support within Israel and have felt isolated during the pandemic.

“The tight lockdown that has been placed currently on Israel places these new Israelis, whose aliyah often leaves them without a family and social support in the country, into extreme isolation without any ability to meet with their parents or children,” Lahav Hertzanu wrote.

Noting that he had received numerous requests for assistance by new immigrants, he said that “tens of thousands of citizens who have come to the State of Israel out of Zionism and a love of the land, and now find themselves alone in an unreasonable and illogical reality which does not contribute to a feeling that Israel is their home.”

He added that non- Israeli yeshiva students and others had been allowed into the country in recent months, and that therefore a system for allowing close family of new immigrants should also be formulated.

The MK said that such a system would clearly require adherence to Health Ministry regulations to ensure public safety.

“In the reality of a tight lockdown, for which it is unclear when it may be lifted, the government must examine how the distress of as many Israeli citizens as possible can be alleviated.

“This is especially important for new immigrants, who have chosen to leave their country of origin and make their homes here,” Lahav Hertzanu said.

Deri and Tamano- Shata did not immediately respond to a request for comment.