Shaked slams Shai for ‘libeling’ Israel in debate over accepting Ukrainian refugees

9 March 2022, 1:05 pm

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Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked speaks at a conference in Jerusalem, February 21, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked slams Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, accusing him of “libeling” Israel after he criticizes the number of Ukrainian refugees Israel is prepared to accept.

Shaked announced yesterday that Israel will allow 25,000 Ukrainians who are not eligible for immigration to stay in the country as refugees amid Russia’s invasion of their nation.

The minister said 20,000 of those had been in Israel before the outbreak of hostilities, and an additional 5,000 would be accepted from the time the invasion began.

This in addition to tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants it expects to arrive in the country in the wake of the war, Shaked said.

But Shai says Israel is obligated to take in a lot more refugees, adding that decisions like this should be made by the government and not be left to Shaked alone.

Fellow Labor party MK Gilad Kariv defends Shai, telling Radio 90FM that “ministers don’t need reprimands from other ministers.”

Kariv, too, calls for increasing the number of refugees allowed to enter Israel.