Avi Maoz
Avi MaozYonatan Sindel/Flash90

MK Avi Maoz, head of the Noam faction (within the Religious Zionism party) is insisting that only Jewish refugees from the war in Ukraine be permitted into the country.

Last week, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked announced that the government is preparing to absorb as many as 100 thousand Jews, as well as those she described as being "entitled to enter according to the Law of Return, and their family members," which potentially includes a huge number of non-Jews, as the Law of Return allows any person who had at least one Jewish grandparent to claim Israeli citizenship.

According to estimates over the past few decades, less than ten percent of Ukrainian and Russian immigrants to Israel have been Jewish according to Jewish Law (halachah); many are actually practising members of other religions.

"The sights of the war in Ukraine and the suffering of its citizens shock the soul and do not allow us to remain indifferent," Shaked said. "These difficult events also have a direct impact on the State of Israel, which is currently preparing to absorb, according to estimates, about 100,000 Jews and those entitled to the Law of Return and their family members fleeing the battle zones.

"The founding fathers of the State of Israel anchored their identity as a national home for the Jewish people," she added, noting that the number of immigrants she is considering to allow into the country is equivalent to the United States giving citizenship to three-and-a-half million people.

"The country must only absorb Jews," Maoz told Radio Tzafon. "Not a single non-Jew should be granted permission to enter Israel, which was founded as a Jewish state, the only Jewish state in the world."

Maoz accused the government and other influential leaders of "engineering a certain type of public conscience whereby as many non-Jews as possible are to be introduced into the country. We must oppose any opening of Israel's gates to non-Jews," he stressed.