Israel Will Take in 100 Orphaned Syrian Refugee Children

Israel will adopt 100 Syrian children, its latest effort on behalf of the beleaguered refugees.

Israel has announced that it will take in 100 orphaned Syrian refugee children.

According to a report by Israel’s Channel 10, the children will receive temporary resident status and become permanent residents after four years. Additionally, the children, who will be housed in an Education Ministry boarding school for the first three months and then enrolled in Israeli schools, will eventually be placed by the government with Arab-Israeli foster families. Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri approved the plan.

“Israel to take in Syrian orphans as refugees w/ path to citizenship. Arab-Israelis will help absorbing,” Israeli-Arab diplomat George Deek wrote on Twitter.

The report also said that Israel may allow close relatives of the Syrian children—such as siblings or parents, if they are found alive—to be granted Israeli residence.

While Israel has largely remained neutral in regards to the conflict in Syria, IDF medics and Israeli doctors have treated more than 3,000 Syrian war casualties in special IDF medical facilities set up along the border as well as in Israeli hospitals.

Israelis have also launched several humanitarian campaigns on behalf of the beleaguered Syrian refugees, as well as an effort to raise funds for humanitarian aid for the victims.

Ziv Medical Center in northern Israel, which has treated over 700 casualties from the civil war raging in Syria, launched a fundraising campaign for medical supplies and other important items necessary for the victims’ recuperation.

In December, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is seeking ways to boost its aid to Syria’s swelling refugee population.

By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff