The acting chair of the executive of the Jewish Agency, Yaakov Hagoel, was recently asked about the call to open the skies of Israel to Diaspora Jews.
In response, Hagoel, speaking from the Jabotinsky conference, which took place on Sunday in Jerusalem, said that Israel is closing the home of Diaspora Jews by not opening the sky to all Jews, in accordance with a recent similar statement by the Chief Rabbi of South Africa.
When asked if one should separate between those who are Jewish and can immigrate to Israel, despite the pandemic restrictions, and those who are not, he said: “I very much identify. We all need to remember that we are going through two difficulty years of an epidemic. All Israeli governments, unfortunately, have decided to close the skies for a long time to everyone except Israeli citizens.”
He added: “We have to understand our brothers in the Diaspora see the State of Israel as their home. And we, in what has been happening here in for the past two years, are closing home to them. I call on the government, and I have also called on previous governments: We must open the gates of the State of Israel to Jews, all year round, all the time, and better one hour earlier.”
While there were times during the pandemic that even Israeli citizens were not allowed to enter, he stressed he was referring to prolonged periods.
“There are short periods of closure, I understand that,” he said. “But a balance must be struck between the state of health and the state of values here. The State of Israel is not just another country. The State of Israel is the home of all the Jews, those who live here, and those who, with the help of G-d, will still live here.”