About 14,000 refugees from Ukraine fled to Israel and live here, most on tourist visas and unable to work. Without health insurance and with dwindling aid, dealing with the Israeli reality becomes more and more difficult.
A year has passed since Russia invaded Ukraine, and the currently 14,000 Ukrainian citizens in Israel who fled here since the outbreak of the war have no right to be employed, despite having laws against deportation to their country and residing legally in Israel.
But according to a report by the Israeli news portal Ynet on the situation of refugees and asylum seekers in Israel, the programs that the state put in place to help some of them are disappearing and the plight of the refugees is increasing.
Liah came to Israel from the Ukraine after the Russian invasion. “I prefer not to remember the last days in Ukraine. My husband had to stay there and I came with my two children and we settled here in a room in the small apartment of my sister who already lived in Israel, it is very difficult to be a refugee here” this young and talented music teacher who before the war had a good job and led a normal life in his town in Ukraine.
“What hurts me the most are the children of Ukraine, I am still in contact with my students and I teach them music virtually via zoom, it anguishes me to see them suffer,” added Liah, who herself has to deal with the situation of her 2 children(11 and 9 years old). The eldest was not accepted to a school in Israel and attends virtual classes feeling isolated and depressed while his younger sister did get accepted to an Israeli school but faces classes in a language she does not understand and limited help.
Without any social coverage, refugees are pushed into a life of poverty, food insecurity and constant deterioration of health and mental health, according to studies cited in the portal.
In addition, government budgets for refugee aid are decreasing, the gaps in services such as food aid, housing and health are decreasing day by day.
Liah and her 2 small children survive at the expense of her sister who, being also an immigrant, does not have a large salary, and her impossibility of having a job, being able to rent a house and being part of the health system, make Liah have lost all hope for the future and cry every day wanting to return to their country, something that at the moment is impossible
Our ministry fully supports Liah and other families in similar conditions by providing them with financial assistance within our means, as well as food, supermarket coupons, clothing and including them in each of our aid projects that are carried out in our social outreach center.
Liah also feels grateful to be able to count on professionals from our team who help her psychologically and spiritually to face this challenging new reality, giving her back some hope and bringing relief to her soul.
But Liah is not the only one who finds herself in this situation, just like her there are other refugee families who feel lonely and helpless and urgently need to be reached with help, and therefore our social outreach works tirelessly to assist them, and you too you can join us.
Our role as the body of the Messiah is to bring hope to this lost world and illuminate in times of darkness creating an impact on society, so our ministry is committed to reaching as many people as possible who suffer, and many of them depend on our commitment and dedication for the work of the Lord.
You can be part of and impact the lives of more people who need help in our city and together show them the way, the truth, and the life.
We invite you to be part of our ministry so that together we can bring hope to our border town of Sderot.
Our work would not be possible without the help of partners like you, so we ask you to consider in prayer the possibility of a monthly commitment that will allow us to continue with the Lord’s work here in Israel.
Sincerely yours
Pastors
Michael & Dina Beener
and CLM Israel Team
“City of Life”
Messianic congregation and Outreach Center
Sderot, Israel.
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