"You shall not turn over a slave who seeks refuge with you. He shall live with you in any place he may choose, within one of your gates. You must not mistreat him" - Deuteronomy 23:16-17.
Right Now’s Statement on Trump’s Anti-Refugee and Anti-Immigrant Executive Orders
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In the NewsJune 22, 2017
Interior Minister Arye Dery recognized this week that asylum seekers from Sudan fled to escape persecution. He said this in response to a statement made by MK Anat Berko (Likud), who asked why Israel should take in individuals from "an enemy state." Dery's response was significant, because it marked "the first time" an Israeli interior minister "recognized the refugee claims of asylum seekers" (Lior, 2017). Around 38,000 asylum seekers live in Israel, most of whom are from Eritrea and Sudan. Most of them live in Tel Aviv and Petah Tikvah, but others also live in Eilat, Netanya, Ashdod, Bnei Brak and Jerusalem. For the full news story, Click Here May 15, 2017
Haaretz reports that almost 1,400 African asylum seekers left Israel for North America and Europe in the past year. 900 of these asylum seekers went to Canada; 140 went to the U.S.; 350 went to Sweden and the Netherlands. Dawit Demoz, an Eritrean asylum seeker who left Israel for Canada, says that he is now studying at York University in Toronto. He recalls how in Israel, "People didn't sit next to me on the train...people told me they don't rent to Eritreans," but in Canada, he says,"I [feel] at home here." For the full news story, Click Here |
Who We Are
Right Now is an international coalition of Jews and allies advocating for the rights of African asylum seekers in Israel through awareness-raising, direct advocacy, and grassroots campaigns.
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Policy Recommendations
Right Now asks Israel to develop an asylum process consistent with the Refugee Convention, one that would respect the dignity of asylum seekers, protect their human rights, and facilitate meaningful and impartial determinations of refugee status by the government of Israel.
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Take Action
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Cover photo by Ellen Livingston
