As Israel prepares for a wave of new immigrants from Ukraine and Russia, Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Dovid Lau said he will establish a special panel of dayanim to assist Ukrainian refugees in verifying their Jewish status, Yisrael Hayom reported on Thursday morning.

Since Ukrainian Jews were forced to flee their homes in haste amid flying missiles, many of them will arrive without proper documentation of their Jewish status.

Rav Lau sent a letter on Tuesday to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara asking her to clarify whether the Batei Din have the authority to clarify the Jewish status of refugees with tourist visas.

“Many [of the Ukrainian refugees] fled their homes and were unable to prepare themselves with the necessary documents in order to prove their Jewish identity,” Rav Lau wrote.

“In order to assist, I’ll establish a special panel of dayanim who will attempt in every way to help prove their Jewish identity. In order to streamline the proceedings, and since the workload in the court doesn’t allow full focus on the issue, I’ll establish a panel of three retired dayanim with extensive experience in the Batei Din and the clarification of Jewish status.”

Rav Lau departed Israel on Wednesday to Kishinev, Moldova, on the invitation of Chief Rabbi of Moldova HaRav Pinchas Saltzman, who is overseeing the absorption of Ukrainian refugees.

Below is a video of Rav Lau at the Israeli embassy in Moldova in which HaRav Saltzman is praising the devotion of the embassy workers in assisting Israelis and Jews throughout the crisis since the war began.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)