Chief Rabbi David Lau
Chief Rabbi David LauNoam Revkin Fenton/Flash90

Speaking on Reshet Bet on Sunday morning, Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Lau, insisted that any refugee who has no safe place to go should be welcomed to Israel as a temporary guest.

"Anyone who has nowhere to go - Israel should welcome them," Rabbi Lau said. "They should be able to remain here until they can return home. A situation should not arise in which someone flees from fire, from the enemy, and he has nowhere to go, no safe harbor."

The Chief Rabbi stressed that there is a great deal of difference between offering refuge and giving someone residency status or even citizenship. "It's entirely different," he explained. "A nation-state absolutely has the right and indeed the obligation to protect its borders, but first and foremost, we have to open the door."

Commenting on Israel's offer to mediate peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Rabbi Lau said, "I don't want to get into such policy questions. But if there's a real chance we can help, then of course that's something we should do."