Sudanese 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

Latest

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with residents of South Tel Aviv, during a tour in the neighborhood, August 31, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Netanyahu exploiting south Tel Aviv’s hardships to attack asylum seekers

Netanyahu has asylum seekers right where he wants them. He can exploit the hardships of south Tel Aviv residents to continue inciting against the Supreme Court, the media, and human rights organizations. By Yossi Dahan After years in which Netanyahu did not set foot in south Tel Aviv, the prime minister came to the area last week…

By Haokets September 8, 2017

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

Hundreds fill New York City's Washington Square Park to protest President Trump's decision to ban Muslim refugees from entering the U.S., January 26, 2017. (Gili Getz)

Trump’s Muslim ban is eerily similar to Israel’s refugee policies

As President Trump seeks to maintain white Christian hegemony, the Jewish state can serve as a case study of nationalism run amuck — and what that means for the ‘others’ who live there. Israel’s founding premise that it would be a “Jewish and democratic” state has always meant that if the state wants to remain democratic…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat March 20, 2017

Eritrean asylum seekers protest in front of the European Union embassy in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, calling for the EU to try the Eritrean leadership for crimes against humanity, on June 21, 2016. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

What will happen to Eritrean asylum seekers after Israel deports them?

The Israeli government must not withhold information from the public about the dangers faced by Eritrean asylum seekers it is planning to deport. By Sigal Avivi Emanuel, an Eritrean asylum seeker whom Israel deported to Uganda half a year ago, agreed to take the risk of being interviewed on camera for one reason: he wanted the Israeli…

By +972 Magazine January 20, 2017

Mutasim Ali says goodbye to friends before being driven to Holot. (photo: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

In first, Israel grants refugee status to Sudanese asylum seeker

Six years after he fled Darfur for Israel, Mutasim Ali, one of the leaders of the asylum seekers’ struggle in Israel, has been granted refugee status. Ali: ‘Now I can live a normal life with dignity.’ By Yael Marom Mutasim Ali was in the middle of his law school class when he learned that he…

By +972 Magazine June 24, 2016

Hassan Nahima (Photo by Yair Meyuhas)

It’s been 10 years since I applied for refugee status in Israel

It’s been exactly 10 years since I crossed the border into Israel. I’ve been imprisoned, I’ve become ill, I was forced to renew my visa 62 times, and now I’m back in a detention facility — Holot. Is seeking asylum a crime? By Hassan Rahima This Sunday marked 10 years since I applied for refugee…

By +972 Magazine December 8, 2015