Eritrean refugees

An african asylum seeker who had been detained at the Saharonim prison for refusing to be reported, leaves prison after the High Court ruled there was no legal justification to keep them in detention. April 15, 2018. (Hadas Parush/FLASH90)

In limbo, asylum seekers await government’s next move

In the absence of a UN deal and with the collapse of Israel’s mass deportation plan, African asylum seekers again face an uncertain future. The roughly 38,000 asylum seekers living in Israel, most of whom fled Eritrea and Sudan, again face an uncertain future. The Israeli government’s mass deportation plan collapsed last week after the…

By Joshua Leifer April 29, 2018

Asylum seekers released from Saharonim after Israel failed to present a new agreement that permits their deportation to Uganda. April 15, 2018. (Oren Ziv / Activestills.org)

In another blow to deportation plan, Israel frees jailed asylum seekers

Israel frees 200 asylum seekers imprisoned for refusing deportation after the government admits there is no secret agreement with Uganda that allows for the mass deportation of refugees. Israel released 207 Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers on Sunday, all of whom had been indefinitely imprisoned for refusing deportation to Uganda or Rwanda. Israel’s High Court…

By Joshua Leifer April 15, 2018

Asylum seekers and Israeli activists protest Israel's plan to deport tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Uganda. April 9, 2018. (Oren Ziv / Activestills.org)

Hundreds around the world protest Israel’s plan to deport refugees to Uganda

Demonstrators gather in Tel Aviv and in front Ugandan embassies in cities around the world to protest Israel’s plan to deport tens of thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers to Uganda. Asylum seekers and activists protested in Tel Aviv and outside Ugandan embassies around the world on Monday against Israel’s plan to deport tens of thousands…

By Joshua Leifer April 9, 2018

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a press conference announcing the new agreement for handling asylum seekers and illegal African migrants in Israel, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on April 2, 2018. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Deal or no deal, the anti-deportation campaign can claim victory

One day after proudly announcing a UN agreement to resettle 16,000 asylum seekers, Netanyahu cancels the agreement due to criticism from the Right. And yet, the anti-deportation campaign can claim a victory. Benjamin Netanyahu is in trouble. With his announcement of the UN agreement regarding the African asylum seekers yesterday, and his announcement several hours later…

By Haggai Matar April 3, 2018

African asylum seekers protest on Thursday near the Kneeset and the Supreme Court against the new "Rwanda or Saharonim" policy of the Israeli government. January 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Hundreds of asylum seekers in Israel to spend Passover behind bars

High Court extends an injunction against the planned mass deportation of African asylum seekers, but those already locked up for refusing deportation will spend the ‘festival of freedom’ in prison. Hundreds of African asylum seekers will remain in Israeli prisons this Passover, their fate on hold after the country’s High Court gave the government an…

By Joshua Leifer March 27, 2018

Asylum seekers protest outside Holot detention center against Israel's deportation plan. February 22, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills)

Injunction poses first major hurdle to deportation plan

The temporary injunction against the government’s plan will remain in effect for at least another week and a half. But the mass deportations are still scheduled to begin on April 1. Israel’s top court issued a temporary injunction against the mass deportation of tens of thousands of African asylum seekers on Thursday. The decision came in…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 16, 2018

Asylum seekers protest outside Holot detention center against Israel's deportation plan. February 22, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills)

Hundreds of asylum seekers march to desert prison to protest deportations

Hundreds held in Israel’s desert detention facility march to nearby Saharonim Prison after seven asylum seekers were transferred and imprisoned there indefinitely — for refusing to leave the country. By Oren Ziv / Activestills.org Hundreds of asylum seekers detained in Holot, Israel’s desert detention facility for African asylum seekers, marched to nearby Saharonim Prison on Thursday after…

By Oren Ziv February 22, 2018

‘They told me to go to a third country. I won’t go. I’ll go to jail.’

Israel begins issuing deportation notices to African asylum seekers: leave the country within two months, or face indefinite imprisonment. By Oren Ziv Two hundred of them arrived in the early morning hours on Sunday, gathering in an industrial area in the mostly ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, just outside of Tel Aviv. They arrived on…

By Oren Ziv February 4, 2018

African asylum seekers march from the Holot detention facility toward the Egyptian border.

10 must-read articles for World Refugee Day

A selection of articles and stories about asylum seekers and refugees in Israel on the occasion of World Refugee Day. (Full disclosure, I couldn’t include just 10) It has been more than a decade since refugees from Darfur first began making the dangerous journey across the Sinai desert in order to seek asylum in Israel.…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man June 20, 2017

African migrants gather during a protest outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, January 26, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israelis, treat us as humans — at least until we can go home

The Israeli government continues to pass discriminatory laws against African asylum seekers, turning the Israeli public against us. But how could it be that Jews have forgotten the word ‘refugee?’ By Monim Haroon A new law that went into effect starting on May 1 stipulates that the state will take 20 percent of asylum seekers’ monthly salaries,…

By +972 Magazine May 11, 2017

The sign at the entrance to Jerusalem, altered to read ‘Welcome, refugees’, December 1, 2015. (Courtesy photo)

Activists alter sign at entrance to Jerusalem: ‘Welcome Refugees’

Drivers entering Jerusalem this week were greeted by an unusual message, which activists hope will jump-start a public discussion about the Israeli government’s treatment of refugees. By Raanan Shemesh Forshner A group of activists from Jerusalem altered the official sign at the entrance to the city this week so that anyone driving in saw an unusual…

By +972 Magazine December 5, 2015

T. photographed in Tel Aviv (R), and appearing in ISIS' execution video (L). (photo courtesy of the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants)

ISIS executes three asylum seekers deported by Israel

Video by extremist Sunni group shows execution of three Eritrean asylum seekers coerced into leaving Israel last year. At least three Eritrean asylum seekers who lived in Israel and were deported to a third country were executed by Islamic State militants in Libya this past week, according to family and friends who recognized them in…

By Haggai Matar April 21, 2015

Police who arrived at the park chose to detain the two neighbors who were arguing with the right-wing protesters for "disturbing the public order." The right-wing activists who tried to attack them were not checked by the police. The two who were arrested were released after 10 hours, with a order not to enter the park. After the right-wing protesters celebrated their small victory of forcing the Eritreans out of the park, they said they will be back next Saturday to make sure no more memorial ceremonies will be held in the area. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Right-wing activists disrupt Eritrean mourners

Right-wing activists intentionally disrupt memorial ceremonies held in a public park by Eritrean immigrants. Police arrest two neighbors who attempt to intervene. [Comment added below] Every Saturday, African asylum seekers from the Eritrean community gather in a small park on De Modina Street in the Shapira neighborhood of south Tel Aviv. There, they hold memorial ceremonies…

By Activestills February 15, 2014