Africans in Israel: Infiltrators, economic migrants or refugees?
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Asylum seekers are defined as people claiming that their lives or freedom are endangered in their country of origin. According to data from the Population, Immigration and Border Authority from August 2015, the number of asylum seekers living in Israel stands at approximately 45,000 people, the majority coming from Eritrea and Sudan. Refugees and asylum seekers do not represent the largest foreign population in Israel. Data indicates that most foreigners in Israel are legal migrant workers as well as individuals travelling on a tourist visa beyond the date of expiration.
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In Israel, there is no way of knowing for certain who is a refugee and who is not. The Ministry of Interior refuses to individually assess applications for asylum of Sudanese and Eritrean nationals in a clear, objective, and transparent manner according to international standards. Accusations that Africans in Israel are "work infiltrators" are baseless and are used to incite negative public opinion. Data from a number of other countries can offer an indication as to the potential status of these individuals. Eritreans and Sudanese, who comprise 90% of this population in Israel, receive relatively high recognition rates as refugees around the world. The rate of refugee status recognition for Eritrean asylum seekers is 88% and for Sudanese 64%. However, the current rate of refugee status recognition in Israel is 0.2%.
What is Israel's detention policy for African Asylum Seekers?
What are the conditions of Israeli detention centers for African Asylum Seekers?
Are the African Asylum Seekers in Israel Criminals?
How do African Asylum Seekers provide for themselves if they're not allowed to work in Israel?
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Israel groups asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan under a policy of "temporary collective protection." By utilizing this policy, the government of Israel acknowledges the danger in these two countries and does not deport asylum seekers to their countries of origin. Asylum seekers are given deferred deportation orders, making their stay in Israel legal. This documentation, however, does not allow them access to formal work permits, health care or welfare services. Asylum seekers are stuck in a legal limbo; while being allowed to remain in the country, they lack the necessary access to survive, advance, and integrate
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What about the claim that if Israel gives Asylum Seekers work and rights, it will encourage others to come?
Asylum seekers arrive in many different countries around the world every day. These individuals are willing to risk their lives in order to flee persecution and the violation of human rights in their country of origin. In the last year alone, 1, 500 asylum seekers drowned in the Mediterranean Sea while attempting to reach safety. Despite the risks associated with these journeys through the Sinai or across the Mediterranean, individuals continue to flee war, forced conscription, and serious violation of human rights in order to seek asylum in countries like Israel.
Are African Asylum Seekers taking jobs away from Israelis?
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The concentration of asylum seekers in south Tel Aviv stems from the fact that those released from prison are given a bus ticket to the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station by the Israeli government. The Israeli human rights and humanitarian organizations as well as the cultural center of the refugee communities are located in Tel Aviv and without public access to basic needs, refugees are likely to remain in this city. The rapid growth of the asylum seeking population in South Tel Aviv, already comprised of marginalized neighborhoods, has become a considerable burden for local residents, adding further distress to the experience of asylum seekers. Human rights groups are calling on the Israeli authorities to invest additional resources in the affected areas.
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Why aren't other countries sharing the responsibility?
What about the claim that even if they are all refugees, Israel still cannot absorb them all?
The Refugee Convention does not dictate a refugee quota and international standards forbid the return of people to a place where their lives are in danger. Of course, no country can absorb refugees without limit and in extreme cases countries establish refugee camps together with international aid organizations, the UN and others. In Israel, the number of asylum seekers living in the country is not considered to be extreme. A report published by the Knesset Information Center in August 2012 stated that "the State of Israel is not considered a country in which mixed-migration flows… is especially large, in comparison to the countries of the EU, Kenya, and South Africa. The target population of the UNHCR in Israel is not especially large, and also not in relation to Israel's population." It is important to clarify that human rights groups in Israel, including our organizations, do not oppose all deportations. Rather, the state should respect its responsibility to examine each individual asylum request and should not deport people whose lives or freedom are in danger.
What are the conditions of female Asylum Seekers in Israel?
The Ministry of Interior does not release statistics on the sex (or age) breakdown of asylum seekers. Israeli NGOs, who do not have resources to collect this data on their own, estimate that women comprise about 3% percent of Sudanese asylum seekers and 20% percent of Eritrean asylum seekers.
Women and men are often held ransom for large amounts of money in Sinai, en route to Israel. Women who have been raped often for months on end in Sinai, then enter the Israeli prison system, where they can be held for 3 or more years according to the June 2012 Anti-Infiltration Law. While PHR and the Hotline estimate that there are between 5,000-7,000 Sinai survivors in Israel, the Israeli government has not published any sort of numbers on the subject.
In addition, women are not all given access to gynecological health care. PHR-IL and The Association of Rape Crisis Center submitted a court petition demanding that gynecological services be provided at the Saharonim prison, where most women and girls are detained. The hearing on this is scheduled for December 31, 2012.
For those not in detention, many women report giving sexual services in return for shelter and some sense of "security." A small yet significant number of refugee women have turned to prostitution for survival.
Regarding domestic abuse, Zebib Sultan, an activist who runs an Eritrean women community centre argues there is a problem of abusive relationships, and estimates around 70% of relationships in the community are either physically or verbally abusive.
There is a problem in general with asylum seekers not having access to non-emergency healthcare. This affects women in many ways; including not having follow-up care during pregnancy or accessible contraception.
Women and men are often held ransom for large amounts of money in Sinai, en route to Israel. Women who have been raped often for months on end in Sinai, then enter the Israeli prison system, where they can be held for 3 or more years according to the June 2012 Anti-Infiltration Law. While PHR and the Hotline estimate that there are between 5,000-7,000 Sinai survivors in Israel, the Israeli government has not published any sort of numbers on the subject.
In addition, women are not all given access to gynecological health care. PHR-IL and The Association of Rape Crisis Center submitted a court petition demanding that gynecological services be provided at the Saharonim prison, where most women and girls are detained. The hearing on this is scheduled for December 31, 2012.
For those not in detention, many women report giving sexual services in return for shelter and some sense of "security." A small yet significant number of refugee women have turned to prostitution for survival.
Regarding domestic abuse, Zebib Sultan, an activist who runs an Eritrean women community centre argues there is a problem of abusive relationships, and estimates around 70% of relationships in the community are either physically or verbally abusive.
There is a problem in general with asylum seekers not having access to non-emergency healthcare. This affects women in many ways; including not having follow-up care during pregnancy or accessible contraception.
