Global InformationAfrican immigration to Israel information
African immigration to Israel is the international movement to Israel from Africa of people that are not natives or do not possess Israeli citizenship in order to settle or reside there.[1][2][3] This phenomenon began in the second half of the 2000s, when a large number of people from Africa entered Israel, mainly through the then-lightly fenced border between Israel and Egypt in the Sinai Peninsula.[citation needed] According to the data of the Israeli Interior Ministry, 26,635 people arrived illegally in this way by July 2010,[4] and over 55,000 by January 2012.[5] In an attempt to curb the influx, Israel constructed the Egypt–Israel barrier.[6] Since its completion in December 2013, the barrier has almost completely stopped the immigration of Africans into Israel across the Sinai border.[7][8]
The African refugee population in Israel is composed primarily of Sudanese and Eritrean refugees migrating to Israel through the Sinai Desert. Israeli policy concerning these refugees has evolved from a policy of neutrality to a policy of deterrence.[9] These refugees began arriving in Israel in the 21st century, led by Bedouin smugglers.[10] As of 2018, the non-Jewish African refugee population in Israel is approximately 36,000.[11]
Israeli citizens living in neighborhoods with large refugee populations have mixed attitudes towards them. Some have claimed refugees are "rapists" and "criminals", while others living in the same neighborhood described them as "peaceful" and "kind."[12] With tensions rising and shifting Israeli policy, both deterrence[13] and support for the refugees has increased.[14] Israeli policy toward African refugees have been heavily influenced by the advocacy and legal work of several nonprofits, including the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, Kav LaOved, Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and others.
As of January 2018, according to the Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) there were 37,288 African migrants in Israel, not including children born to migrants in Israel.[15] Most African migrants are regarded to be legitimate asylum seekers by human rights organizations,[16][17] but the Israeli government says most of them are job seeking work-migrants.[18]
Many of the migrants seek asylum status under the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Citizens of Eritrea and Sudan cannot be forcibly deported from Israel. Under international law, Eritrean citizens (who, since 2009, form the majority of the undocumented workers in Israel) cannot be deported due to the opinion of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that Eritrea has a difficult internal situation and a forced recruitment and therefore the Eritrean immigrants are defined as a "temporary humanitarian protection group". Israeli authorities have stated that they could not deport Sudanese directly back to Sudan because Israel has no diplomatic ties to Sudan.[19] Accordingly, the Israeli authorities grant temporary residence through "conditional release permits" which must be renewed every one to four months, depending on the discretion of the individual immigration official.[19] Various authorities in Israel estimate that 80–90% of the undocumented workers live primarily in two centers: more than 60% in Tel Aviv and more than 20% Eilat, with a few in Ashdod, Jerusalem and Arad.[4] Most non-Jewish African refugees have been granted "conditional release" visas, which are not valid work permits in Israel. Lack of a valid work permit severely limits their economic opportunities.[20] There was a case of a riot targeting African refugees in Tel Aviv, although the Israeli government has arrested and subsequently punished the perpetrators.[21]
- ^ "immigration". OxfordDictionaries.com. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ "immigrate". Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, In. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ "Who's who: Definitions". London, England: Refugee Council. 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ a b נתונים על פשיעה של מסתננים ומבקשי מקלט וכנגד מסת ננים ומבקשי מקלט [Data on crimes made by illegal immigrants and asylum seekers and of crimes made against illegal immigrants and asylum seekers] (PDF) (in Hebrew). 11 October 2010. p. 3. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ תוני זרים בישראל [Israeli foreign data] (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israeli authority of population and immigration. January 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ Butcher, Tim. Sharon presses for fence across Sinai, The Daily Telegraph, 7 December 2005.
- ^ Israel Completes 245 Mile, NIS 1.6 Billion Security Fence Along Sinai Border with Egypt Algemeiner, 4 December 2013 2:58 PM
- ^ Lappin, Yaakov (15 January 2019). "Israel's border fence with Egypt has transformed the south". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ AM, Yardena Schwartz On 10/13/15 at 10:54 (13 October 2015). "Non-Jewish Refugees Get a Cold Shoulder in Israel". Newsweek. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Furst-Nichols, Rebecca; Jacobsen, Karen (January 2011). "African Migration to Israel: Debt, Employment and Remittances" (PDF). Feinstein International Center: 1–20 – via Tufts University.
- ^ Eglash, Ruth (25 April 2018). "Israel scraps contested plan to deport tens of thousands of African migrants". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "South Tel Aviv residents show mixed emotions about African refugee crisis". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "Israel to African refugees: You're not welcome here". USA TODAY. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "20,000 Israelis Protest Deportation of African Asylum Seekers". Haaretz. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "נתוני זרים בישראל" (PDF). Population and Immigration Authority (in Hebrew). January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Israel: Asylum Seekers Blocked at Border". Human Rights Watch. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ "Israel: New detention law violates rights of asylum-seekers". Amnesty International. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
- ^ African migrants reel as Israeli law cuts into their salaries
- ^ a b "Make Their Lives Miserable". Human Rights Watch. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ Yaron, Hadas; Hashimshony-Yaffe, Nurit; Campbell, John (15 April 2013). ""Infiltrators" or Refugees? An Analysis of Israel's Policy Towards African Asylum-Seekers" (PDF). International Migration. 51 (4): 144–157. doi:10.1111/imig.12070. ISSN 0020-7985.
- ^ "Violent Riots Target African Nationals Living In Israel". NPR.org. Retrieved 5 November 2018.