Jewish Agency Accused of Leaking Ukraine Evacuation Plans

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the Jewish Agency for Israel of leaking a plan to evacuate Jews from eastern Ukraine. The plans to leave the country in the wake of ongoing political crisis and violence there were reported in the Ukrainian media, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Wednesday. The plans are no longer viable, according to the report.

Israel’s ambassador to the Ukraine, Reuven Din El, called the leaks “harmful and dangerous politically, operationally and to our image,” and make Ukrainian Jews subject to charges of dual loyalty.

“I would like to express my deep shock from the publication of plans that were supposed to be secret,” he wrote in a telegram, according to Channel 2.

The Jewish Agency has denied responsibility for the leaks and told JTA on Tuesday that there was no mass evacuation planned.

Earlier this month, the agency started a hotline for Ukrainian Jews wishing to move to Israel that streamlines the immigration process, a senior official with the nongovernmental organization told JTA.