The Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs, headed by Acting Chair MK Tatiana Mazarsky (Yesh Atid), convened today (Monday) for a follow-up discussion on the topic of assistance and government ministry response to new immigrants during Operation “Lion’s Roar.”
According to tax authority data, as of yesterday (03.15.26), 10,946 property tax damage claims have been filed, of which 7,475 claims are already being processed. In 82% of the claims, a property inspection has already been conducted. 1,821 claims were filed through the fast track.
Rotem Cohen, Deputy Director General of Public Service, ministry of Immigration and Absorption:
“Since the outbreak of the operation, the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption has conducted over 25,000 proactive calls with new immigrants in Israel. We prioritize proactive calls with immigrants who are in affected areas. Where necessary, we are in continuous contact. In parallel, we are in contact with evacuated new immigrants. According to the data we have, there are 88 immigrant families who were evacuated from their homes, comprising 161 individuals. The majority of immigrant families evacuated from their homes resided in Tel Aviv and Beersheba.
Ronit Elian, Population and Immigration Authority: “As we reported in the previous discussion, due to the war situation, we have extended the validity of visas in Israel by an additional three months. We hope that in the coming days we will be able to somewhat ease our emergency routine and facilitate as much as possible the stalled family reunification processes. We are expanding every service we can according to the situation. We are in a state of emergency and hope to return to routine soon.”
MK Tatiana Mazarsky, Acting Chair of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs, summarized the discussion:
“I request that the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption make their information and that of all government ministries as accessible as possible for the new immigrant public in Israel. The committee requests that the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption and the Population and Immigration Authority actively locate immigrants with temporary identity cards to summon them to receive permanent identity cards. I request that the Population Authority consider establishing an exceptions committee for family reunification even during the war. We will continue to monitor the issue as required.”