Israel’s Ambassador to Canada, Alan Baker, demanded Canadian authorities to stop granting “refugee” status to immigrating Israelis seeking the special status under false pretences, such as political persecution, religious persecution, military service obligations, or other serious security situations.
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Baker’s petition followed reports received at Israel’s embassy in Canada about several cases where Israeli citizens, usually olim from the former Soviet Union, received refugee status which entitled them to a row of benefits, such as residence permits, legal working options, welfare benefits, free education and health insurance.
The embassy wasn’t aware of the exact number of Israelis who applied for refugee status, but estimates showed it was only a few isolated cases. Still, the embassy was irritated by the fact that those Israelis received refugee status under false pretenses about life in Israel.
Baker recently met with the Canadian Immigration Minister and requested a meeting with those petitioning for refugee status or at least receiving information as to their claims, in order to allow for Israeli authorities to look into the claims and determine whether they were true, or false, and meant to gain benefits.
Canadians rejected the ambassador’s request with the explanation that they were individual cases that deserved privacy. Nevertheless, Baker requested a consultation with Israel at the very least in order to make sure the claims were true.
“We have a feeling that those Israelis are fooling you, and in any case, granting refugee status hurts Israel’s image and is an attempt at portraying it, wrongly, as a country in which people are persecuted,” Baker told Canadian authorities.
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