deportations

Portraits of fascism: a special photography project

Since Oct. 7, Israeli police have arrested hundreds for opposing the Gaza war and published degrading photos of several detainees. Seven agreed to be photographed again — this time on their own terms.

By Oren Ziv May 9, 2025

A general view of the security check-in area at Ben Gurion International Airport, August 24, 2006. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

Israel denies entry to Palestinian American over alleged BDS support

Israeli border authorities stopped 22-year-old Lara Alqasem from entering the country, despite the fact that she has a one-year student visa. An American woman with a valid student visa was denied entry to Israel upon landing on Tuesday at Ben Gurion Airport. Lara Alqasem, the 22-year-old granddaughter of Palestinian refugees from Haifa and a recent graduate…

By Edo Konrad October 3, 2018

African asylum seekers and human rights activists protest against deportation of asylum seekers at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on March 24, 2018. (Alster/Flash90)

At Tel Aviv rally, a Mizrahi-asylum seeker alliance is born

Tens of thousands crowded Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Saturday to show solidarity for asylum seekers facing deportation. ‘If we let the deportation happen, the Jewish people will have a stain on its history forever.’ It was an unusually hazy night in Tel Aviv. The lights from the stage caught the dust in long, yellow beams.…

By Joshua Leifer March 25, 2018

Latest

Asylum seekers protesting the indefinite detention of seven asylum seekers who refused to leave Israel for a third country. February 22, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israel halts asylum seeker deportations — for now

Israeli authorities signal they plan to keep the deportation plan on schedule. By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man and Joshua Leifer Israeli authorities announced that they will temporarily halt, until further notice, the deportation of African asylum seekers to Rwanda and Uganda. Israel will, however, continue to issue deportation notices, and asylum seekers who are already in…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man March 14, 2018

Kigali, Rwanda. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Sent to Rwanda by Israel: ‘We have no food or work. Don’t come here’

Ahead of a mass planned deportation, +972 Magazine joins two members of Knesset on a trip to Rwanda and Uganda to investigate what happens to the asylum seekers Israel is sending there. The one thing that remained most elusive: a future for asylum seekers pushed out of Israel. By Oren Ziv KIGALI, Rwanda — A dark…

By Oren Ziv February 10, 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

A family of asylum seekers seen during a protest against a new law to deduct wages from refugees, Tel Aviv, June 10, 2017. (Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Thousands protest law punishing African asylum seekers

African asylum seekers march through central Tel Aviv to protest a law that deducts 20 percent of their wages. Photos by Yotam Ronen / Activestills.org Over 3,000 Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers marched through central Tel Aviv Saturday night against a new law that docks 20 percent of their salaries, which will be repaid only…

By Haggai Matar June 11, 2017

British peace activist Gary Spedding holds up his passport, with a refusal stamp from the Israeli border authorities. (photo: Aaron Dover)

British national challenges Israel’s policy of deporting peace activists

Israel’s Interior Ministry banned British peace activist Gary Spedding from the country for 10 years, claiming that he was an anti-Semitic liar who might start a riot. Unlike other activists who have suffered the same fate, Spedding isn’t giving up without a fight. An Israeli court is slated to rule next month on a case…

By Haggai Matar August 24, 2015

Complete control: On the unquestioned authority of the Interior Ministry

Israel’s judges rarely question whether the Interior Ministry may not actually be an expert on immigration matters, or whether it might be making decisions without asking the right questions – even when someone’s life is on the line. The courts generally accept any, or nearly any, factual claim provided by the Interior Ministry regarding individuals…

By Laissez Passer April 27, 2013