Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar David instructed to allocate dozens of rooms for the reception of refugees from Ukraine. Bar David's decision comes against the backdrop of the difficult images broadcasted Thursday of refugees without shelter or food at Ben Gurion Airport.
Following the images, the Minister of the Interior, Ayelet Shaked, requested that the procedure of leaving the refugees from Ukraine at Ben Gurion Airport be changed, and that they be transferred regularly to the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv, pending a decision on their case.
6,166 refugees have arrived in Israel since the outbreak of the war, of whom 214 were refused entry into the country.
“The shameful pictures we saw tonight at Ben Gurion Airport do not respect anyone,” Bar David said. “I welcome the decision of Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, but at the same time, all stakeholders must join forces so that we do not see more painful images in the future.”
Bar David added that he estimated that more refugees would arrive in the coming days and made arrangements for accommodations with the Mishan network of senior living homes and the Leadership Institute at Beit Berl college.
“I ordered that every available room be prepared,” he said. “We will make the rooms and facilities available to the refugees who will come to Israel in an attempt to give some warmth and humanity to families who have fled their homes.”
The Chairman of the Histadrut concluded, “the professional teams of the Histadrut are in contact with members of the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Immigration and Absorption.”
“At the request of Arnon Bar David, we have established a team that includes Mishan, the Leadership Institute at Beit Berl, the Director of Human Resources and the Director General of the Division for International Relations,” said Shavei Michael, chairman of the Leadership Institute and Mishan. “At the same time, we are contacting government ministries.”
This article was translated from Hebrew by Lily Sieradzki.
