Israel's Nof Hagalil city welcomes Jews fleeing Ukraine

Mayor of the northern city invites Jewish immigrants, saying it was 'built on immigration'; adds municipality will 'absorb as many people as we can' amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukriane
i24NEWS|
The northern Israeli city of Nof Hagalil has opened its doors to hundreds of Ukrainian Jews fleeing the ongoing Russian attack on their homeland.
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  • Under the city's municipality office, volunteers unloaded blankets and clothes donated by the city's residents for the refugees who managed to make their way to Israel amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which on Tuesday entered its 12th day.
    4 View gallery
    A Russian shop is pictured in Israel's northern town of Nof Hagalil
    A Russian shop is pictured in Israel's northern town of Nof Hagalil
    A Russian shop in the northern city of Nof Hagalil
    (Photo: AFP)
    "Nof Hagalil is built on immigration, "We will absorb as many people as we can," said Nof Hagalil Mayor Ronen Plot, who arrived in Israel nearly 50 years ago from Moldova.
    After the Russian invasion began, Plot posted on Facebook, inviting Ukrainian "olim," or Jewish immigrants, to his town and urging residents to pitch in.
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    הילדים שעלו על הטיסה
    הילדים שעלו על הטיסה
    A Ukrainian child arriving in Israel amid the Russian invasion
    (Photo: Sivan Hilaie)
    "If a big immigration wave arrives, we'd be happy to take part in the Israeli effort," he wrote.
    Under Israel's "law of return," eligible applicants with at least one Jewish parent or grandparent are entitled to citizenship.
    4 View gallery
    הילדים שעלו על הטיסה
    הילדים שעלו על הטיסה
    Refugees from Ukraine arriving in Ben Gurion Airport
    (Photo: Sivan Hilaie)
    Among those responding to Plot's invitation was Chaim Gershman, who reached Nof Hagalil on Thursday with his wife Ora and their four children. His mother Nelja, 60, arrived a day later.
    He said when he arrived in Israel, he chose Nof Hagalil because of the mayor's posts.
    4 View gallery
    ז'יטומיר חילוץ הריסות שרפה כוחות הצלה  נהרסו בהפצצה משבר מלחמה רוסיה אוקראינה
    ז'יטומיר חילוץ הריסות שרפה כוחות הצלה  נהרסו בהפצצה משבר מלחמה רוסיה אוקראינה
    Rescue teams in the shelled Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr
    (Photo: AFP)
    "I saw a man inviting, saying come to our city, we'll welcome you," he said.
    Plot said his community offers a familiar environment because more than half its 50,000 residents speak Russian, adding that he located 600 empty hotel rooms and 300 vacant apartments to house the Ukrainians, who are "exhausted."
    "They endured a lot of misery, they are hungry and tired and it's awful," he said.

    Republished with permission from i24NEWS
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