From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Welfare Ministry announces health, housing, education benefits for Ukraine refugees
Judah Ari Gross is The Times of Israel's religions and Diaspora affairs correspondent.
Israel will grant basic services to the thousands of Ukrainian refugees entering the country, the Welfare Ministry says.
Nearly 7,000 Ukrainian refugees who are not eligible for Israeli citizenship have entered the country since Russia invaded their country late last month, according to Israel’s Population Authority, and thousands more are expected to do so in the coming days and weeks.
Until now, these refugees have been in Israel on tourist visas, which afford them no social services, like healthcare, education or housing assistance.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tasked the Welfare Ministry with addressing the issue and providing basic services to the refugees.
“According to the plan, the Welfare Ministry will provide the refugees with temporary housing, food assistance, material assistance, social services and other rights like health insurance and enrollment in the education system,” the ministry says.
The ministry says it will also operate a special phone line for Ukrainian refugees to provide them with other assistance as needed.
“The plan will put an emphasis on providing comprehensive assistance to elderly refugees, children, at-risk youth and people with disabilities,” the ministry says.
