From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Minister asks to grant citizenship to family of fallen soldier
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Minister-without-portfolio Gideon Sa’ar writes to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel to ask him to grant citizenship to the family of fallen IDF serviceman Elishai Young.
Young, 19, fell in battle in Gaza on Saturday while fighting as part of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion. He was a member of the non-Jewish Hebrew Israelites Community in Dimona.
While serving as interior minister in 2013, Sa’ar decided that those who had completed more than 18 months of military service would receive citizenship, along with their immediate family.
Young, his mother, brother, and late father were given permanent residency some years ago. But the soldier fell before completing those 18 months.
“During the war, the Young family paid the highest and most painful price for the sake of the country and its security. It is justified to grant Israeli citizenship to the family members of the late Elishai,” writes Sa’ar.
The Times of Israel Community.