Nachman Shai, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister visited the Jewish Agency refugee reception center in Poland. He emphasizes: “I came to Poland because I want to see the whole picture, to understand the distress and think how the Israeli government can help”. He said sadly “I understood that there are things you cannot understand while in Israel and that you need to see it with your own eyes to believe this can actually be the situation in 2022”.

Minister Shai wrote on Twitter: “Scenes here at the Polish-Ukrainian border are heartbreaking; an endless stream of refugees who left everything behind often including fathers, brothers & sons. Israel must keep its gates open to these people, Jew & non-Jew alike, & provide refuge for those fleeing this brutal war”.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Shai said meeting the refugees was “fascinating, sad, exciting, frustrating. All imaginable feelings mixed in”, he added.

Shai criticized Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked for her caution in promoting the plan to accept Ukrainian refugees.

“At the Novotel hotel in Warsaw, I saw a hall where the Swedish government created a reception center, offering to let any refugee from Ukraine immigrate to the Nordic country. If a Ukrainian has no Jewish relatives, why would they want to immigrate to Israel? Why do we need to fear that millions will enter Israel?”

Shai stressed that Israel should accept Jews and those that qualify for Israeli “Law of Return”, but also non-Jews. “Let’s offer to let them come for a limited time. I am not afraid of that. Even if we open our borders, it is not realistic that 20,000 non-Jews to come unless Israel takes organized action”, stated the Israeli Diaspora Minister.

“Now, 80 years after the Holocaust, I am happy that Jews are being rescued in Poland. My grandmother Rosa, who lived in Warsaw, was not sent to Israel, but to Treblinka. Today Poland is investing in people, treating them beautifully and performing a first-rate human act”, said Nachman Shai.

Adrian Andrzejewski