A special flight carrying nine elderly Holocaust survivors along with 12 wounded people who were rescued by ZAKA volunteers from the combat zones in Ukraine landed in Israel on Wednesday night, touching down at Ben Gurion Airport as Israel commenced with events for Yom HaShoah, the official Holocaust remembrance day.
A special team of ZAKA doctors and paramedics accompanied the medical flight from Moldova to Israel.
The body of the late Holocaust survivor Aharon Skamorovsky, who was rescued along with his wife from Kyiv by ZAKA volunteers, and died at a Chisinau hospital while surrounded by his family, was also brought to Israel for burial.
The Holocaust Survivors were greeted by the Minister of Aliyah and Absorption Pnina Tamano-Shata.
Tamano-Shata stated upon the flight’s arrival that “it is so symbolic on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day to receive at the airport nine Holocaust survivors who fled the battles in Ukraine on a special rescue flight of the ZAKA and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.”
“80 years ago the Jewish people had nowhere to run, and today every Jew in the world has a sheltered home. It is a privilege and a first-rate task to help Holocaust survivors, accompany them through difficult moments and make sure that at their old age they will have physical and mental security. It is our duty to do so,” she added.
The new immigrants were transported to hospitals, nursing homes, and dedicated apartments prepared for them in advance.
This is ZAKA’s fourth successful medical rescue operation of Jews from Ukraine.
More than 500 Holocaust survivors have immigrated to Israel from Ukraine and Russia in the past two months.
