Inter Press Service, March 19, 2012 Hundreds of African refugees and Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night under the banner ‘It’s dangerous in South Sudan’ to protest the imminent expulsion of 700 Sudanese asylum seekers, including children. A small group of counter-protesters attended to show their support for the government’s decision to deport …
Counterpunch, April 22, 2011 Several weeks ago, Israeli authorities arrested M, a pregnant woman, along with her three-year-old, Israeli-born son. The young family—sans the father, who had been deported several months before—was briefly detained then expelled from the country. But don’t break out those Palestinian flags just yet. This was a family of migrant workers. …
Guernica, March 8, 2011 This morning, I woke to the news that a woman had been stabbed to death in South Tel Aviv. Two men—dubbed migrant workers by the Hebrew press, but referred to as “African descent” in the English-language media, suggesting they were probably asylum seekers—were briefly held under suspicion for the crime. They …
Al Jazeera English, March 7, 2011 Last week, as Israeli president Shimon Peres was calling a South Tel Aviv school to congratulate it for its role in Oscar-winning documentary, the state was preparing to expel 120 of the school’s students, including a twelve-year-old girl who starred in the film. “Strangers No More” was produced and …
Mondoweiss, February 28, 2011 The Huffington Post, February 28, 2011 It’s big news here in Israel that “Strangers No More“– a documentary film that focuses on a South Tel Aviv school attended by zarim, Hebrew for foreigners or strangers–has won an Oscar. “Thank you most of all to the exceptional immigrant and refugee children from …
Al Jazeera English, January 9, 2011 On a recent Monday, over 200 Jewish Israelis rallied in Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv under the banner of Keep Bat Yam Jewish. The demonstrators, most of whom were religious and strikingly young, were there to protest romantic relationships between Arabs and Jews, particularly those between Arab …
The Guardian, December 8, 2010 Over 50 of Israel’s leading rabbis have issued a religious decree forbidding Jews from renting or selling homes or land to non-Jews—namely, Arabs, migrant workers, and African refugees. The letter was signed by rabbis across the country—many of who are employed by the state as municipal religious leaders—and urged Jews …
The Jerusalem Post, August 13, 2010 Despite the imminent deportation of 400 migrant workers’ children, South Tel Aviv’s black market kindergartens are still up and running. Sometimes referred to as “pirate kindergartens” or “babysitters,” this is where most of the kids who face expulsion spend their days. Many of the older children who meet the …
Al Jazeera English, May 1, 2010 Traffic came to a stop in the center of Tel Aviv on Friday as hundreds took to the streets for May Day. African refugees were amongst them. They carried hand-painted signs reading “Refugees’ rights now” and “Let us work to survive” in bold, red letters. Their words point to …
The Jerusalem Post, December 18, 2009 Led by over one hundred NGOs, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv on Friday to unite under the banner of human rights. The rally, organized by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and timed to coincide with International Human Rights Day, centered on the theme “en …