Jewish Agency Caught in Ukraine ‘Evacuation’ Plan Leak Drama
Image by getty images
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has accused the Jewish Agency for Israel of leaking a plan to evacuate Jews from Eastern Ukraine, in the wake of ongoing political crisis and violence.
The plans were reported in the Ukrainian media, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Wednesday evening. The plans are no longer viable, according to the report.
Israel’s ambassador to the Ukraine, Reuven Din El, called the leaks “harmful and dangerous-politically, operationally, and to our image,” and make Ukrainian Jews subject to charges of dual loyalty.
“I would like to express my deep shock from the publication of plans that were supposed to be secret,” he wrote in a telegram, according to Channel 2.
The Jewish Agency has denied responsibility for the leaks.
The Jewish Agency told JTA on Tuesday that there is no mass evacuation planned.
The Jewish Agency started a hotline earlier this month for Ukrainian Jews wishing to move to Israel, which streamlines the immigration process, a senior Jewish Agency official told JTA.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
