The “Grandchild Clause” in the Law of Return should be amended without legislation, Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer said Monday.
Most immigrants from Russia and Ukraine in 2022 were not Jewish according to Halacha, but many still qualified for the Law of Return, the Religious Zionist Party minister told KAN News.
There is an agreement within the coalition to make changes to the Grandchild Clause, Sofer said.
Ofir Sofer: Coalition agrees to make changes to Grandchild Clause
“In the past year, a considerable part of about 40,000 out of 55,000 who made aliyah are not Jewish according to Halacha.”
Ofir Sofer
“In the past year, a considerable part of about 40,000 out of 55,000 who made aliyah are not Jewish according to Halacha,” he said, which means 72% of all olim from Russia and Ukraine are not considered Jewish.
“Some of these olim are entitled to the Law of Return,” he said, adding that many of them used the Grandchild Clause to make aliyah, even though the Interior Ministry does not consider them as Jews.
“There are interactive solutions that are related to legislative amendments, but not only to legislative amendments [that may help make the relevant changes],” Sofer said. A committee would be established to formulate the policy, he said, adding that his personal opinion is that “a solution must be found without reaching legislation.”
Interior Minister Arye Deri on Sunday said: “We have one country in the world that we will preserve as Jewish.” Preserving Israel as a Jewish state “isn’t an easy task” because of issues such as “the Law of Return and other restrictions,” he said, adding that there are different “humanitarian missions for refugees,” which can influence Israel’s Jewish character.
Deri cited the Population and Immigration Authority, which is under his authority as interior minister, and said its main role was to preserve Israel as a Jewish country as well as to “provide a service.”