Diaspora Jewry
“Welcome home!” he told the group. “Each of you contributes to the strength of the country and the strength of Israeli society.”
“I am really looking forward to beginning this new chapter of my life here in Israel as a future physician in the Israeli medical system,” said Sam Leeman.
The group of new immigrants included 31 families, 99 children, seven retirees and 40 soldiers who will serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
Central Bureau of Statistics data show that 18,891 Russians and 12,175 Ukrainians moved to the Jewish state between Feb. 24, when Moscow initiated the war, and July 31.
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt served as chief rabbi of Moscow for more than 30 years until the morning after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when he woke up to a frightening reality that reminded him of the “dark days of the Iron Curtain.”
“The truth is Israel’s government doesn’t know what will happen,” says an Israeli government source In the runup to August 19 hearing on the shuttering of the Agency in Russia.
“Wine with Adam” with Adam Bellos and guest professor David Graizbord
Pedro Guinzberg, 21, who grew up in a small Jewish community in the Argentinian city of Bahía Blanca, says the choice to make Israel his home came out of a love for the Jewish people.
“These are all very powerful, very poignant and emotional stories. They are stories that are largely unknown to the larger world, including many in the Jewish community,” said AJC CEO David Harris.
An Israeli delegation of jurists is in Moscow for meetings with senior Russian Justice Ministry officials.
The United States is expected to absorb 180,000 people, including some who were temporarily in the country before the war broke out.
Even as Moscow threatens to force the “dissolution” of Jewish Agency operations, experts urge Jerusalem to resolve the issue through “secret diplomacy based on common interests.”
