Good News for Thousands Of Yeshiva Students From Abroad: 'Student' Status Can Now Be Obtained at Israeli Consulates Abroad
22.06.2016
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri joined hands with the Foreign Ministry to ensure that yeshiva students from abroad — just like university students from abroad — can receive their student status at the Israeli consulate in their home country.
Until now, Israeli consulates around the world confirmed the student status of each student coming to study at any university in the country, but refused to recognize yeshiva students as students. The many thousands of yeshiva students were forced to come to Israel as tourists and only afterwards arrange their student status in Israel’s Population and Immigration branch offices. This was a great bother, and entailed waiting in long lines and wasting time from Torah study. The official student status is necessary to extend their stay in the country and enable their institutions to receive funding for them.
Minister Deri decided to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to put an end to the discrimination of yeshiva students in comparison to university students. His efforts bore fruit and from now on, chutznik yeshiva students who come equipped with a certificate confirming their admission to a yeshiva in Israel will be able to get student status from their local consulates.
Minister Deri welcomed the big change and said: "Ensuring that the status of yeshiva student engaged in full-time Torah study is equal to university students is a value in itself. It is indefensible that a young Jew who comes to Israel to study Torah should have an inferior status to his peer who came to study other subjects. The new change will do justice with thousands of Jews, will ease matters immeasurably for thousands of yeshiva students and will prevent wasting time from Torah study, particularly for the upcoming Elul semester."
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Until now, Israeli consulates around the world confirmed the student status of each student coming to study at any university in the country, but refused to recognize yeshiva students as students. The many thousands of yeshiva students were forced to come to Israel as tourists and only afterwards arrange their student status in Israel’s Population and Immigration branch offices. This was a great bother, and entailed waiting in long lines and wasting time from Torah study. The official student status is necessary to extend their stay in the country and enable their institutions to receive funding for them.
Minister Deri decided to work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to put an end to the discrimination of yeshiva students in comparison to university students. His efforts bore fruit and from now on, chutznik yeshiva students who come equipped with a certificate confirming their admission to a yeshiva in Israel will be able to get student status from their local consulates.
Minister Deri welcomed the big change and said: "Ensuring that the status of yeshiva student engaged in full-time Torah study is equal to university students is a value in itself. It is indefensible that a young Jew who comes to Israel to study Torah should have an inferior status to his peer who came to study other subjects. The new change will do justice with thousands of Jews, will ease matters immeasurably for thousands of yeshiva students and will prevent wasting time from Torah study, particularly for the upcoming Elul semester."
