Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot would preserve the Law of Return if elected prime minister, while seeking to cut bureaucracy and address the needs of olim, head of the party’s olim integration initiative, Alex Rif told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview, outlining key points of its plan for new immigrants ahead of its full release.
Eisenkot’s Yashar Party has become the largest party in the opposition bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent polls ahead of elections set to take place no later than October 27.
Rif told the Post that one of the aspects that differentiates Yashar from other parties in the opposition bloc on olim issues was its decision to develop a detailed plan specifically addressing the needs of new immigrants.
“No other party has this large, specific professional plan as we have,” she said.
One of the central issues for the party would be preserving the Law of Return and its Grandchild Clause, which enables anyone with a Jewish grandparent to become a citizen of Israel – even if they are not considered Jewish under the status of Jewish Law.
Head of the Yashar Party’s olim integration initiative Alex Rif at The Jerusalem Post studio. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Right-wing parties in the current government have sought to cancel the Grandchild Clause in the Law of Return. “It’s very clear to us that we have to preserve the status quo. To unite the Jewish people in Israel,” Rif said regarding the preservation of the Law of Return.
Rif: Israel must stay open to all Jews
“We believe that Israel has to stay open to them [all Jews]. This is Zionism. This is a declaration of independence of Israel as the center of the Jewish people.”
“I want to continue to open the door for the grandchildren of these Jews, who were almost erased, to come to Israel.”
Rif also addressed the issue of burial, saying the party would seek to ensure that olim who are not Jewish according to Jewish law could be buried in Jewish cemeteries if they choose.
She said that after the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023, the issue was especially prevalent.
“If a soldier died in the IDF and he was not Jewish by halakha [Jewish law], he was buried in some kind of a different graveyard,” Rif explained, noting that the process has led to humiliation among grieving family members.
Yashar would also push to allow for civil marriage in the country, Rif added.
Another major component of Yashar’s plan would be reducing the bureaucracy that olim face in the country and also creating a center abroad to help them before they arrive in the country.
“We have to find those spots of excellence that Israel needs and find how to make it much easier for people that want to make aliyah,” Rif said.
The party would also seek to better integrate olim who arrive in Israel with established careers, including doctors, engineers and high-tech workers, by helping them find employment in their respective fields.
“We have to have specific programs for these highly educated people to come to Israel to make it easier for them, to help them come with their family, to help them stay so they’ll know their place of work before they even come.”
The plan would also address the integration of olim children into the country’s education system with better programs to aid their acclimation process.
“We have to think about how to assimilate better. We have to think about how to study Hebrew better, how to hug the family and the community better,” she said.
Rif also explained that there were major issues of racism and violence toward the olim community that needed to be addressed.
“We have a lot of issues of racism and violence and boycott in the Israeli education system by itself, but it’s just very severe in the olim community.”
“We have a lot of cases. I have a WhatsApp group with 200 parents whose children were boycotted or part of violence because they are olim.”
“We wrote a specific program for how to first educate the children and the teachers on multiculturalism, on the different people that are here, on respecting everyone,” she said.
Yashar’s plan includes improved translation of Hebrew websites
Another focus of the plan would be on improving services for elderly olim and ensuring better translation of Hebrew websites into different languages.
Rif said the party would also address the rising number of olim who leave the country after making aliyah.
“They left because they feel hopeless, and they feel that they want their children to be safe and to have a chance for a better future. Netanyahu’s government is not giving it to them.”
“I hope, and I know that Gadi is the only chance for them to come back,” she said.
