One-third of recent Russian immigrants to Israel left within one month

Russians who have immigrated to Israel since the start of their country’s invasion of Ukraine were given additional perks that ordinary immigrants to Israel do not receive — and many have already left.

An Israeli Airlines El Al Boeing 787 at the tarmac in Israel’s Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Feb. 2022. Photo by ACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

By Forward Staff April 28, 2022

Nearly one-third of recent Russian immigrants to Israel have already left the country, according to a report from the Jerusalem Post.

The 5,600 Russians who immigrated to Israel under the country’s Law of Return since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February were given and an envelope full of cash upon arrival, monthly financial assistance payments, and additional perks that ordinary immigrants to Israel do not receive, including free extended hotel stays as well as banking, medical and other benefits.

Nearly 1,800 have now left, some returning to Russia in anticipation of sanctions easing, within an average of one month.

Since Russia’s invasion, hundreds of major companies and financial institutions have pulled out of Russia and barred Russian citizens from using their products. Gaining Israeli citizenship is one way to circumvent these and other sanctions.

“Those eligible for the Law of Return in Russia and other former Soviet Union countries have realized the potential that this law offers them,” according to the Jerusalem Post article. “Many companies published advertisements on Russian-speaking sites and even billboards, offering Israeli citizenship within mere days.”

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