They look like any other family: Doctors Julia and Konstantin, both in their 30s, stand with their 10-year-old daughter Valeria and their 2-year-old dog Mickey. Everyone is dressed well and chatting calmly. You would never guess that they are refugees from Ukraine who were left with nothing. Their story is only one piece in a mosaic of 226 new immigrants who arrived on a plane in Israel from Ukraine on Monday in an initiative organized by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. "When we returned, we saw that we had many telephone messages. We found out that a missile hit the building beside ours and several people were injured -- our vacation basically saved our lives." As the situation got worse, Konstantin's father was diagnosed with cancer and died a short time later. "He was very well-known and respected in the city," Konstantin said. "But only a few people came to his funeral because there was constant shelling." Now, the family is looking for a change. After years of suffering from anti-Semitism, Konstantin said, "This is the first time that I have said that I am Jewish and been proud." The couple will be integrated through the Jewish Agency's program for doctors. After passing the Health Ministry's exams, they will be able to work in the Israeli healthcare system -- Julia as a gynecologist and Konstantin as a dentist. Arriving on the same flight were Yanna and Nikolai, and Yanna's mother Rayisa. In Ukraine, they owned three houses and private businesses. "We left everything behind and fled," said Yanna. But the hardest part was not losing their homes and businesses -- before they left, the couple's only son, Robert, went missing. "One day, they just went into our home and kidnapped him without saying a word," Yanna said. "We searched for him in hospitals and morgues. I really hope we will be able to find out what has happened to him and to start our lives again." Rabbi Pinchas Vishedski, the chief rabbi of Donetsk, accompanied the families to Kiev before the flight. "In Ukraine, there are no code red sirens or bomb shelters," he said. "The bombs just fell and there were so many victims of the civil war." The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, led by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, made the decision to help Jewish Ukrainians in conflict zones. "We will make every effort to see to it that every Jewish refugee finds a warm home in Israel," Eckstein told Israel Hayom. Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver said each of the Ukrainian immigrants will receive additional benefits on top of the standard package -- a further 6,000 shekels ($1,533) for individuals and 15,000 shekels ($3,827) for families.
Credit: Paz Bar
"We've been married for 12 years, and recently, we have been living the dream," said Konstantin, standing alongside his wife. "We opened a clinic in the center of Lugansk, we bought a big apartment and went on vacation to Turkey just as things were starting to deteriorate.
