Diaspora Affairs Minister Dr. Nachman Shai (Labor) on Wednesday morning responded to the Ukrainian refugee framework, saying that Israel must "give these refugees shelter."
In a letter sent to Cabinet Secretary Shalom Shlomo, Shai wrote, "Our task at this time is to help rescue Ukrainian refugees and open the gates for them, not to place restrictions in their path."
Asking that the issue of Israel's refugee absorption policy be raised at the next cabinet meeting, which will take place this coming Sunday, he added, "On the Polish-Ukrainian border I saw with my own eyes the endless stream of refugees leaving Ukraine. It is a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions. Hundreds of thousands of families have fled. This is a humanitarian crisis of historic proportions."
"Israel must stand on the right side of history, and give these refugees shelter. A people whose history has included many years of being refugees, it is not now permitted to shut its eyes in the face of this current refugee crisis."
On Tuesday, despite the fact that Israel has already absorbed an enormous number of Ukrainians, Shai promised, "The state of the Jewish people cannot close its gates at such a time... I will continue to fight to keep the gates of the State of Israel open to refugees from this terrible war."
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