Diaspora Jewry
“This is a part of the world that is far physically from Israel but not distant from our point of view,” said Ruth Cohen-Dar, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ director of the Department for Combating Anti-Semitism.
The attempt to punish Israel for its stance on the war with Ukraine is “deplorable and offensive. The Jews of Russia cannot be detached from their historical and emotional connection to the State of Israel,” said Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai.
“We grew up in a very Zionist home, and despite the geographical distance, we were instilled with a deep love for the country and Jewish homeland,” said 18-year-old Ari and Ron.
“Jews should live where they can be a light to the nations and for me as a person with millions and millions of followers in the United States promoting what I think are values that are eternally good, living in the United States is a point of morality for me,” he said.
Physicians will be eligible to receive 50,000 shekels ($14,300) per family, while healthcare workers and engineers will be eligible for 20,000 shekels ($5,720).
“The vast majority of black Americans are not anti-Semitic, not anti-Israel. But this doesn’t get talked about. The louder mouthpieces often are like Louis Farrakhan, who is talking about white people, Jews and Israel, and somehow, they are portrayed as the mouthpiece for the entire black community,” explains Pastor Dumisani Washington.
“I don’t think this is even a political issue anymore. This is about securing our community and making sure that we don’t have orphaned kids—2-year-olds—as a result of celebrating at a function like the Fourth of July,” said Lonnie Nasatir, president of the Jewish United Fund.
“Many have been waiting for decades for this moment; we see it as a central Zionist ideal to make reunions possible,” said Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
The development comes amid tensions centered on Israel’s position on the war in Ukraine.
While the population at this exclusive venue jumps to 200,000 in the summer, it’s also home to a small but growing year-round population of about 17,000. Like the lighthouses that dot the island’s coasts, Chabad will be there for the long, bustling summer days and the equally long, star-studded winter nights.
“A crisis of this magnitude has not been seen in Eastern Europe since World War II,” said Rabbi Shlomó Köves, chief rabbi of EMIH-The Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities.
Some 294,200 Jewish households with more than 700,000 residents reside there. Of those individuals, some 565,000 are Jewish and another 173,000 are not Jewish.
