Darfur

Sudanese asylum seekers embrace in south Tel Aviv's Levinksy Park following the announcement that Omar al-Bashir will step down after 30 years in power, April 11, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

PODCAST: Witnessing regime change in Sudan as a refugee in exile

The Sudanese refugee community in Israel watched ecstatically as long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir was deposed. But there’s a catch. Listen to the latest episode of The +972 Podcast. Listen here: iTunes/Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify “The uprising in Sudan did not start a couple of months ago, it started years ago,” says Mutasim Ali, one of the leaders…

By +972 Magazine May 7, 2019

African asylum seekers and human rights activists protest against deportation in front of the Rwandan Embassy in Herzliya, on January 22, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Asylum seekers sent to Rwanda warn: ‘If you don’t want to die, stay in Israel’

Israeli officials often imply that African asylum seekers sent to Rwanda will receive legal status and the ability to build a life there. Testimonies collected in a new report paint an entirely different — and much grimmer — picture. “I saw 400 people [in the Mediterranean]. They drowned […] many children died, I remember. I don’t…

By Joshua Leifer February 2, 2018

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

Between determination and despair: Meet the refugees fighting deportation

The Israeli government has begun the first stages in its planned deportation of African asylum seekers. Refugee activists and advocates are preparing to fight it. The start of the new year marked the first stages of the Israeli government’s plan to deport the roughly 40,000 asylum seekers, most from Eritrea and Sudan, currently living in Israel. The government announced in…

By Joshua Leifer January 16, 2018

Latest

African asylum seekers gather during a protest outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on January 26, 2017. (Sebi Berens/Flash90)

It is our silence that allows Israel to deport asylum seekers

Fifty years on, Martin Luther King Jr.’s words resonate more than ever: those who are silent are all part of the problem. It is they who have allowed Israel to neglect south Tel Aviv and to condemn asylum seekers to torture and death. By Sapir Sluzker-Amram On January 15, Americans observed Martin Luther King Day, marking 50 years since the civil…

By +972 Magazine January 16, 2018

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

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

The protesters were calling to close the prison and to recognize the refugee rights of the African asylum seekers living in Israel.

The importance of being earnest about human rights

In an open letter, one of Israel’s foremost refugee rights lawyers calls on the deputy attorney general to follow her conscience. By Asaf Weitzen Dear Deputy Attorney General Dina Silber: I am familiar with a bit of your academic work, including two books you authored and speeches that you give from time to time. You have…

By +972 Magazine January 22, 2015

African asylum seekers march from the Holot detention center, where they were jailed, to the Israeli Egyptian border, June 27, 2014. (Photo by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Marching toward freedom in a fictional plot of land

Nearly 1,000 African asylum seekers walked out of Israel’s ‘open’ detention facility last week, saying they were headed to a strip of UN-controlled territory along the Egyptian border. This is the story of their march — full of hopes, determination and desperation. Encampment air hangs hot and still. Under a dry canopy of Eucalyptus it…

By Noam Shemtov July 2, 2014

File photo of Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar (Photo: Activestills.org)

WATCH: Confronting an Israeli minister for flouting int’l law

Sadiq al-Sadiq was returned to Israel earlier this month after finding himself being sent — against his will — back to Sudan, from where he fled persecution and genocide. Sadiq is just one of hundreds or thousands of Sudanese who have been pressured to leave Israel. Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who is responsible for the…

By +972 Magazine May 19, 2014

Asylum seekers from Darfur take part in the 11th memorial day for the genocide in Darfur, in Levinsky park, South Tel Aviv, April 30, 2014.

Photos of the week: Remembering a genocide

This week: remembering Darfur, asylum seekers in Belgium, refusing military service, tear gas in Nil’in, Bedouins face demolitions in the Negev, Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike, housing struggles in Israel, and Ethiopian Jews protest discrimination.

By Activestills May 2, 2014

African Asylum seekers march out of the Holot ‘open prison,’ where they were being held, and march along the highway from Beer Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem, December 16, 2013. (Photo: Activestills.org)

The origins and politics of Israel’s refugee debate

An in-depth look at the historical and political developments that shaped Israel’s current African asylum-seeker crisis — and one way to resolve it that meets Israel’s own needs while doing right by those who most need its protection. African asylum seekers in Israel have brought their struggle into the limelight in recent weeks. Through acts…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 28, 2014

African asylum seekers participate in a silent demonstration in front of the African Union office in Tel Aviv, calling for international support in their struggle for recognition as refugees, January 22, 2014. (photo: Oren Ziv, Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

No excuse for Israel’s denial of asylum seekers’ plight

Refugees’ fear of arrest, torture, and death should be sufficient justification for their inability to return their countries of origin. So why is the Israeli government refusing to grant African refugees asylum status? A personal story. By Guy Josif and Anna Rose Siegel For the past three weeks, tens of thousands of African refugees in…

By +972 Magazine January 22, 2014

Israelis stand at attention during siren for Holocaust Memorial Day (Photo: Yossi Gurvitz)

Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel: Something’s missing

With Holocaust Remembrance Day upon us once again in Israel, I am republishing a piece I wrote four years ago. I’ve decided not to make any changes because not that much has changed and the spirit of the piece remains true to today. This year, I dedicate it to the people of Syria, may someone…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man April 7, 2013