Breakthrough ruling reaffirms right of adult grandchildren of 'Righteous Among the Nations' to apply for residency in Israel

Grandchildren of the “Righteous Among the Nations” – non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust – recently received news that a 2022 amendment limiting eligibility for Israeli residency rights has been annulled.

Both children and grandchildren of the Righteous Among the Nations are eligible to apply for a B1 visa, which can be renewed annually for up to 5 years, after which they may apply for residency. However, in May 2022, the legal wording was changed by adding a single word: “minor.”

As a result of the amendment, eligibility for an A/5 temporary residence permit was effectively restricted to minors, excluding adults over 18 from applying. In practice, this significantly limited the pathway to residency for many descendants.

On Jan. 18, the District Court accepted an appeal filed by one such grandchild from Ukraine, ruling that the procedural provision limiting eligibility to minors was void due to “extreme unreasonableness,” according to lawyer Joshua Pex.

Last February, Ellen Tjittes from the Netherlands told ALL ISRAEL NEWS that she had been thrilled to learn that she could apply to stay in Israel on account of her grandfather’s legacy, but then was dismayed when she was told she was too old to meet the criteria. Her grandfather, Frederik Jan Kerkhof, has his name written in the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, but as an adult, she was barred from applying. 

“By adding the word ‘minor’ before grandchildren, they closed the door to many grandchildren of Righteous among the nations,” Tjittes told ALL ISRAEL NEWS. “Heroes from 1940-45 likely have no grandchildren of this age. In this way, the Israeli government has thought to limit the period of honor for many grandfathers/mothers,” she said.

Relaying her frustration, she protested, “This information wasn’t on the website, and it was so strange to me. They let you go through the process, then say, 'Sorry! You’re not young enough!'"

Tjittes appealed the decision and continued to pursue the matter in court when her appeals were rejected. However, the breakthrough ruling stemmed from a different case, Nychyporuk v. Population and Immigration Authority.

According to the recent court verdict, the successful appellant is a Ukrainian citizen, born in 1986, whose late grandparents, Pavel (born 1910) and Afanasia (born 1908) Nychyporuk, were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations in 1991 for saving Jews during the Holocaust.

Nychyporuk had been residing in Israel since 2017 on a B/1 work permit on account of her status, but was barred from upgrading to residency after five years due to her age.

Her request was rejected by the Population and Immigration Authority on the grounds that she is an adult, and an appeal filed with the Appeals Tribunal was also dismissed.

Finally, the District Court accepted the appeal, criticizing the age limit within the procedure. The court acknowledged the probability of there being a minor grandchild of a Righteous Among the Nations was “slim to nonexistent,” emptying the gesture of meaning.

The court ruled that the track for upgrading status should apply to grandchildren regardless of their age, and the age limit has now been revoked.

“In her straightforward ruling, Honorable Justice Tamar Bar-Asher from the Jerusalem District Court reaffirmed Israel as a nation governed by the rule of law and set limits to the power of the executive branch to make unreasonable, far-reaching changes,” said Pex, who has been handling the case of Tjittes.

“The procedure itself has not yet been updated by the Ministry of Interior, but at the moment there is no minister at the helm after the resignation of Moshe Arbel from the Shas party last July,” he added.

“My grandfather was rewarded just before he died,” Tjittes told ALL ISRAEL NEWS. “I’m so happy he was honored.” Frederik Jan Kerkhof, along with his parents Jan Kerkhof sr and Klaartje van de Waal, helped hide two Jewish brothers, Lodewijk Jacob and Eliezer Blei Weissmann, saving their lives. 

After visiting Yad Vashem and seeing her grandfather’s name on the wall, Tjittes discovered there was an entire archive of information about his story and his friendship with the two brothers. She also learned that Frederik’s status granted her, as his grandchild, the right to stay in Israel.

“It is an honor for me to carry on my grandfather’s legacy,” Tjittes told ALL ISRAEL NEWS. “The rejection of my visa application on the grounds that I am too old was an incomprehensible outcome and a great disappointment to me. My generation – the grandchildren of the Righteous Among the Nations – cannot possibly be 18 years old or younger now.”

“Thanks to the court ruling, everything has been set right again. Now we can once again act in accordance with the spirit of this law,” she said. “The door is open to hearts that have been connected to the Jewish community for decades.”

Insisting that antisemitic voices must not be allowed to drown out the truth about Israel, she shared her desire to help build Israel up in its time of need: “It is a tremendous encouragement that I can still invoke the law for grandchildren of the Righteous Among the Nations to settle in Israel and help build and assist wherever needed,” she said, describing the news as “a wonderful turn of events in which the friendships spanning generations are once again being respected.”