28.01.25, Uliana Driuchkova, Gilad Palombo, Hilla Erel
Ukrainian Refugees in Israel Overview January 2025
Nearly three years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees in Israel find themselves without regular status, rights, or certainty about their future. After having fled one war in their homeland, facing another war in their place of refuge exacerbates their already vulnerable situation, which is only getting worse.
The population of Ukrainian refugees is comprised mostly of women and their children (approximately 65%, according to data from the Population Authority dated 31.7.24, received in response to a freedom of information request from the Refugee Organizations Forum). The war in Israel has worsened their humanitarian and psychological situation and world attention has been diverted from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
There are currently approximately 23,000 Ukrainian citizens residing legally in Israel with collective protection from deportation because the State of Israel recognizes that deportation to Ukraine is not possible. According to the Minister of the Interior’s non-enforcement policy, they may legally be employed. Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the beginning of the arrival of Ukrainian refugees to Israel, the State of Israel provided an aid package for the refugees, which included health services, food stamps, and housing assistance in extreme cases. Over time, these aid services were reduced until almost nothing remained. At the same time, the assistance provided to the refugees by relatives and volunteers, who initially helped with clothing, food, and shelter, has dwindled over the past two years. Civil society can no longer replace the state in providing the necessary support system for the refugees.
Moreover, since the outbreak of the war in Israel on October 7, 2023, many refugees have lost their jobs such as cleaning restaurants and houses. The loss of income and the absence of an economic and social safety net increased the already-high risk of Ukrainian refugees and their children to extreme food insecurity, eviction due to inability to pay rent, and exploitation.
These are the main challenges facing Ukrainian refugees living in Israel:
Medicine and health insurance: The policy regarding Ukrainian refugees over the past three years is characterized by ambiguity and last-minute decisions, leaving this vulnerable population in a state of uncertainty. At the beginning of August 2023, the healthcare arrangement was unexpectedly terminated, leading to an abrupt halt in medical treatments, which put patients’ lives at risk. A public campaign, pressure from civil society organizations and the Ukrainian Embassy, and the filing of a legal petition succeeded in getting the arrangement renewed until the end of 2023. In January 2024, following another legal petition, healthcare services were renewed until 31 March 2024.
Following another petition filed by civil society organizations, Israeli courts issued a temporary order on 27 March 2024, which is still in effect, ordering the state to continue providing insurance coverage for medical treatments that had already begun or were scheduled for Ukrainian refugees who are protected under the non-refoulement policy. In practice, the state is not honoring the interim order and is not providing previously begun health services until there is a decision regarding the petition.
In response to this petition and a previous petition regarding health insurance for Eritrean senior citizens, the State of Israel enacted the National Healthcare Services for Non-Residents in 2024. The regulations exclude asylum seekers between the ages of 18 and 60, which includes most of the Ukrainian refugee population. This exclusion stems from the perception that everyone in this age bracket should work and receive health insurance from their employers. The regulations do not provide coverage for people who cannot work (such as due to a medical condition). They do not address the abusive conditions under which Ukrainian refugees are often employed and their dependence on these employers to receive health insurance.
Those who are eligible to register for the health regulations (children and seniors) encountered bureaucratic hurdles related to lack of synchronization between the National Health Fund, which provides the new insurance, and the Population Authority. Although the Ministry of Health regulations have been in effect for over six months, refugees from Ukraine face significant difficulties in obtaining medical insurance even for children and adults over the age of 60. Requests to service centers and health fund clinics are often refused because healthcare workers are unaware of these services for Ukrainian refugees. This lack of information leads to many of them failing to receive the services they deserve.
Data from a study conducted in 2024 on poverty and food insecurity among refugees in Israel conducted by ASSAF and the Adva Institute (the report is in press) found that only approximately 80% of Ukrainian children and 56% of the surveyed Ukrainian women have medical insurance. About 65% of the respondents said they have forgone medical treatment due to their financial situation.
Tourist visas: On 7 February 2024, Judge Michal Agmon Gonen ruled that the Population and Immigration Authority must issue a type 2A5 tourist visa to all Ukrainian citizens residing in Israel under temporary protection. The visas were to be issued by 3 March 2024 and would be valid for as long as the temporary protection for this population is in effect. However, almost a year has passed since the ruling, and according to data provided to the Refugee Organizations Forum on July 31, 2024, only about 1,800 Ukrainian refugees have received this visa. This type of visa does not grant any rights or security, and it must be periodically renewed. Most of the Ukrainians still a have a tourist Visa (B/2), At the end of 2024, the Minister of the Interior renewed the policy of non-enforcement towards Ukrainian citizens in Israel through the end of 2025. However, this does not significantly improve the status of Ukrainian refugees in Israel. Living as a “tourist” for almost three years with no tangible residence permit increases the already significant risk of abusive employment and exploitation. Without a proper visa, Ukrainian refugees have difficulty finding work and housing, and their access to banking and public services is limited.
Employment: Since arriving in Israel almost three years ago, these refugees have not been granted work permits. Instead of regulating their employment through work permits, a “non-enforcement” policy was declared, similar to the “temporary” policy regarding refugees from Africa (issued in January 2011 and still in effect). Although Ukrainian refugees do not have work permits, no measures are enforced against those who work or their employers. This policy will remain in effect as the war in Ukraine continues and the refugees would be in danger in their homeland. The ambiguity of the non-enforcement policy increases their difficulty in finding work and the risk of abusive employment and exploitation. According to data collected by ASSAF, 39% of Ukrainian women are unemployed and 26.2% are employed illegally.
Although Ukrainian refugees with tourist visas have permission to work legally, many employers refuse to hire them because they lack work visas registered in their passports. Many employers are not familiar with the procedures or the possibility of hiring them, which makes it difficult for them to find work and earn a decent living.
Banking: Access to banking services continues to be a challenge for most Ukrainian refugees. Many banks and branches refuse to open bank accounts for Ukrainian refugees, which limits their ability to lead a normal daily life.
Education: About 3,000 Ukrainian children have come to Israel since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Children who have stayed in the country for three months or more can enroll in the public education system. Last year, ASSAF distributed questionnaires to 57 Ukrainian refugee mothers (who have a total of 87 children living with them in Israel; an average of two or three children per family). The results indicate that the vast majority of these children (89.5%) are registered and studying in Israeli public kindergartens and schools in their area of residence. This means that approximately 10% of Ukrainian refugee children are not in any educational setting in Israel despite the compulsory education law for various reasons.
For some children, there is no appropriFADVate school in their neighborhood (for example, those living in predominantly Haredi neighborhoods);
Some children avoid school because they suffer from bullying and harassment from other children. This is exacerbated by a lack of adequate mediation by education staff, often due to language gaps, and they are not able to transfer to another school.
Some schools refuse to accept these children, claiming that they are “tourists” and are not covered under the Law of Return. The extent of this refusal is unknown, but whether it is widespread or unusual, it is illegal and requires investigation. Attitudes towards children of Ukrainian refugees vary in different local authorities and between schools in a given local authority. For example, one school in Bat Yam refused to give Hebrew assistance to a child on the grounds that such assistance is not given to tourists. Another school in Bat Yam and one in Petah Tikva refused to admit a Ukrainian child to the school. Refugee mothers are isolated and face difficulty working and supporting their families if their children are not enrolled in the morning and afternoon classes and programs at public schools and kindergartens. Children who are in Israeli schools often do not know Hebrew and if they do not receive language assistance or educational support, they often sit in class without understanding the lessons.
Our questionnaires indicate that 42.1% of the children of surveyed families who are studying in the Israeli education system do not receive assistance or reinforcement in the Hebrew language. This makes it difficult for them in terms of emotions (self-esteem), communication (the ability to connect with Israeli children or mediate difficulties such as bullying), and academics (the ability to learn).
According to the survey, 88.9% of these children are in regular classrooms, and only 11.1% are in separate classes or groups for immigrants. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that many of these children—some of whom have been in Israeli classrooms for almost three years—do not understand the content of the lessons.
Language is also a major barrier in parents’ interaction with the staff in educational institutions. Half of the respondents to the questionnaires said that they cannot receive information about their children from educational staff, since it is not linguistically accessible to them.
Increasing food insecurity, poverty, and housing shortages: Refugees who arrived in Israel following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine were required to stay in the homes of Israeli citizens. The State provided housing solutions only in extreme cases. Eventually, many hosts could not continue to accommodate the refugees; however, the state ceased to provide housing solutions, even in extreme cases. Refugees seek rental housing, but their short-term residence permits make this difficult. Further, few of them can bear the financial burden of Israel’s high rents. Due to their low incomes, many refugee families rent apartments together, in living accommodations that are crowded for them and their children.
A study on poverty and food insecurity in Israel conducted by ASSAF and the Adva Institute (in press), found that Ukrainian refugee women spend about 70% of their salaries on rent. According to the research literature in this field, housing that costs more than 30% of disposable income is considered “unaffordable”. The study found that the average monthly salary of Ukrainian women is 5600 NIS and 79% of them are below the poverty line. Only about 30% have food security, while 50% live with moderate food insecurity, and about 20% live with severe food insecurity.
Human trafficking and survival prostitution: By the end of 2022, there was a notable increase in refugees suffering from trafficking and survival prostitution. The Center for Ukrainian Refugees in Tel Aviv identified some 850 women engaged in survival prostitution. None of them agreed to enter a program for the protection and rehabilitation of survivors of human trafficking, due to the lack of appropriate language mediation to help them navigate this complex process.
The US State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report gave Israel a ranking of 2 out of 3 for the second year in a row. It noted that the ambiguous status of asylum seekers in Israel exposes them to exploitation and forces many women into survival prostitution. The report noted the vulnerability of Ukrainian refugees in Israel to human trafficking.
Deteriorating mental health: The trauma of refugees who experienced war and fled from their homeland was revived by the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. For almost three years, these refugees have not received needed psychological support or had access to mental health services.
Misunderstanding in Israeli society about Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons: Given the current security situation, it is difficult for Israelis to understand why refugees fled the war in Ukraine but have stayed in Israel during the war that has been ongoing for more than a year. The war in Ukraine differs in nature and is characterized by:
It is necessary to raise awareness of the complex situation of Ukrainian refugees and their need for broad support and assistance to enable them to live in dignity and security.
After being refugees for three years following the invasion of their homeland, Ukrainian refugees and their children are facing another war in Israel, which adds to the humanitarian, economic, and psychological hardships for them and their children. Our cumulative experience in assisting refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan, who have been living in Israel legally for about 17 years under collective protection from deportation, shows that without any social framework, refugees are pushed into poverty, food insecurity, and constant health and mental deterioration. The State of Israel must learn from this and act immediately to renew and expand the assistance provided to Ukrainian refugees and their children and enable them to live a safe and dignified life and to develop and be educated as required by law.
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