Israel plans to absorb 100 Syrian orphans

Israel’s interior minister authorized 100 orphans in Syria to receive refugee status in Israel and to begin a process laying the path for their full absorption into Israel. 

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Chairman of the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party, authorized on Wednesday 100 refugee children from Syria, who have been orphaned as a result of the country’s six-year civil war, to receive refugee status in Israel, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 10.

The orphans will first receive a temporary residency status four years, after which they will get permanent status, which will essentially lay the path for them to be fully absorbed by Israel. Their integration process into Israeli society will be facilitated by the Arab-Israeli families who will adopt them.

Additionally, any immediate relatives of the Syrian children refugees who are discovered to be alive will also go through a consideration process for refugee status in Israel.

Although Israel has officially maintained a position of neutrality regarding the Syrian civil war, Israel has allowed hundreds of injured Syrians to cross the border temporarily over the past few years in order to receive medical treatment.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News