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Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has today spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky where he said Israel “stands by the people of Ukraine in these difficult days” and offered any humanitarian aid needed by Ukraine, as Russia’s large-scale military invasion of the country escalates.
Israel’s Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, has “condemned” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “serious violation of the international order.
Israel is not currently expected to join other Western countries in imposing sanctions on Russia. Due to Russia’s large military presence in Syria – which shares a border with Israel – Israel is reliant on coordination with Moscow to undertake its own military activities to prevent Iranian weapon smuggling and military entrenchment in the country.
Home to one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe, Israel has today allocated NIS 10 million ($2.3 million) in aid to Ukraine’s Jewish community. It is understood that the aid will be used to fund food and medicine; funding for security guards around Jewish centres to protect them from rioting and looting; helping refugees in widescale evacuations; and transporting people to safer areas.
Nachman Shai, Minister for Diaspora Affairs, says that the Ministry is “following developments in the area with great concern. Our hearts are with the Jewish people of Ukraine”, and they will continue to closely monitor the situation and “respond accordingly”.
Israel has also aided Ukrainian Jewish community members, evacuating them from the country.
Deputy Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Yoav Bistritsky estimates that over 4,500 Israelis have left the country in recent weeks. This evacuation comes after Israeli diplomats serving in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova – the countries that border Ukraine – visited border crossings, on Sunday, to discuss land evacuation of Israelis and Ukrainian Jews should Russia invade. Last week, Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky told The Times of Israel that Israeli’s should leave Ukraine immediately and should not “count on rescue flights to extract them if war breaks out”.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has advised that any Israelis or Jews still in Ukraine to head to the West, away from Russia’s military assault on the country, and to leave through neighbouring Poland. Israeli Ambassador to the Ukraine Michael Brodsky told Kan news that embassy staff are “preparing on the Polish side to receive Israelis and help them to fly to Israel”.
