Israel Will Take In 100 Syrian Refugee Orphans
The Ignored?: Syrian children wait in line to collect a free Iftar meal in the northern city of Raqqa during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on July 14. Image by Getty Images
(JTA) — Israel is willing to accept 100 orphaned Syrian refugee children, a news report said.
Israel’s Channel 10 reported Wednesday night that Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri approved the plan, which has not yet been put into action. Government offices reportedly will now work with international organizations in order to receive the refugees.
The children will live in a dormitory for their first three months in the country, according to the report. They will then be placed in foster care with Israeli-Arab families, Channel 10 reported. The children will hold temporary resident status and can become permanent residents after four years, which would allow them to stay in Israel for the rest of their lives, according to the report.
Any immediate relatives of the refugee orphans, including siblings, also could be granted refugee status, according to the report.
The refugees have been orphaned in the ongoing civil war between government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and anti-government rebels.
Israel has treated those wounded in the conflict for the past several years. Over 2,000 Syrians have been treated in Israel, many women and children, according to the Times of Israel.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
