Bureaucratic Error Blocks Ukrainian Teen's Israeli Education
Fourteen-year-old Vladislava Rehlis from Dnipro, Ukraine, faces a bureaucratic hurdle preventing her from attending a youth village in Israel, despite being accepted into the Naaleh program. The issue stems from an error made by Israel's Interior Ministry six years ago during the processing of her citizenship, which has left her status ambiguous, listed as both a citizen and non-citizen in different records.
Vladislava, who has been learning Hebrew since kindergarten and adheres to Jewish traditions, passed entrance exams for the Kfar Galim youth village near Haifa and was expected to start in the current academic year. She dreams of living in Israel, serving in the army, and potentially pursuing a career in public service. Her father, Leonid Rehlis, a Ukrainian citizen who repatriated from Donetsk in 2014, obtained Israeli citizenship in 2016. He later secured an Israeli passport for Vladislava in 2020, after a court recognized her as his child and she underwent a genetic test. She has traveled to Israel multiple times since then as a citizen.
The problem surfaced in November 2025 when the family attempted to renew Vladislava's expired passport at the Israeli embassy in Kyiv. Embassy staff were unable to process the application, citing system issues. In February, the Interior Ministry informed Leonid that Vladislava's citizenship had been granted in error and offered her the option to re-immigrate. Leonid refused to sign a document admitting fault, arguing that the ministry failed to follow proper legal procedures for revoking citizenship and that such a record could harm his daughter's future prospects in Israel.
Despite the ongoing dispute, Vladislava has continued to participate in Maccabiah events, encountering confusion at border control and during visa applications. The Ministry of Education confirmed her place in the Naaleh program and youth village is held, but enrollment cannot be finalized until her Israeli residency status is resolved by the Interior Ministry. The Interior Ministry acknowledged an "erroneous registration" occurred but declined further comment, stating the issue would be resolved through the embassy. Vladislava's half-brother, Yefim Rehlis, who successfully immigrated and joined the IDF, called the situation unjust.
