The Africans in Tel Aviv — A Guest Posting from Liz Lacher

Today I am hosting a friend, Liz Lacher, to be a guest blogger in my space.  Here is her message:

Hi Len,

As I mentioned to you last week, I am very distressed by events unfolding in Israel, particularly in South Tel Aviv, where African asylum seekers are being targeted and attacked by the local population.  There are many reasons that the situation has reached this point, but from my perspective, and from the direct personal contact I have had with both Israelis and the Africans, over the last few years during my winters in Israel, I must say the following:  while there is suffering and deprivation on both sides, and wile there is no easy answer or political solution to the current problems, each African is a human being, created b'tzelem Elohim, who is entitled to be treated with decency.  And despite the inflammatory rhetoric from the Israeli government, calling the Africans infiltrators and economic migrants, I truly believe, based on my own personal contact and observations, that many, if not most of them, are legitimate asylum seekers who fled wars, persecution, rape and torture.  Of course it is true that they entered Israel illegally - most of them by crossing through Sinai and risking life and limb at the Egyptian border, before being humanely accepted into the hands of Israeli soldiers once they got across.  Once inside Israel, they were processed, most were imprisoned at Ketziot for some period of time, and then released onto the streets of Tel Aviv, or sometimes Eilat.  Most got a conditional release (temporary visa), but over the past year at least, as these visas were renewed, they were clearly stamped that the holder is not permitted to work in Israel.  So that left tens of thousands of Africans on the street with no legal means to support themselves, no money, no home, no food, and no way out.  Despite all that, many of them do work (day jobs, odd jobs, under the table), and in some instances Israeli employers will hire them, knowing that despite the stamp on the visa, the government has said it will not prosecute employers who hire them at the current time until the detention camp in the Negev is completed.  The government plans to deal with the refugee problem by putting at least 10,000 Africans in a detention camp in the Negev for an extended period of time to get them away from Israeli population centers.  But here is my point:  however they got to Israel, they are there now, for the time being.  And as long as they are within the borders of Israel, the government of Israel, and its people, have a moral obligation to provide them with the bare necessities for life:  basic food, clothing and shelter, (or a way to work for those things on their own) and the right to live unmolested without fear of further persecution.  Never mind that we were strangers in a strange land;  never mind that we suffered the persecution of the Holocaust;  never mind that the Jewish people have a long and sad history of being refugees throughout the world and throughout history.  We were given the Torah and the mandate to be a light unto the nations.  That is why I expect better of Jews and Israelis than what happened in South Tel Aviv last week.  That is why it is so hurtful and shocking to me to see what happened.  That is why I feel that this is an injustice that not only hurts the African refugees in Israel, but serves to destroy the soul, if you will, of the Jewish nation.  I know it is wrong to attack innocent Africans on the street;  I know it is wrong for Knesset members like Miri Regev and Michael Ben Ari to rile up crowds in the street and incite them to violence;  and I know that it is wrong to keep silent when I see such injustice occur.

So it is my hope to spread this information to our independent minyan community, and to any others who are interested, and who want to learn more about the situation.  I think each person should become more informed and make their own judgments about what is happening and what can or should be done.  I have worked with and supported the ARDC (African Refugee Development Center) in Tel Aviv, and I know it to be an important resource for the African refugee community.  It is an NGO that provides a shelter for women and children, psychological and social work assistance, food, community networking, education, legal guidance and other resources of, by and for the refugee community.  There is a sense of fear and despair that has descended over this organization and the community, exacerbated by the recent events in Tel Aviv.  I will forward you their recent email.  I hope you will be able to forward that on to your own email and blog networks. 

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this information.

Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,
Liz

P.S.  For further information, see:  http://ardc-israel.org/

P.P.S.  And also:  http://jstreet.org/blog/post/incitement-in-tel-aviv_1