Slippery Slope

An Eritrean asylum seeker who filed a rape complaint was asked by the police investigator in charge whether she “enjoyed the act” and “what did you feel when he came?”

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

The Ministry of Interior refuses to allow African asylum seekers to enter the Bnei Brak Population Bureau to seek shelter from the rain.  Other people’s entrance to the building was not restricted, and the asylum seekers were told that there are different regulations for them.

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

Police has arrested six suspects, including a minor, who are believed to have been involved in series of attacks against African migrants. (China.org.cn)

(Hebrew – Police website)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a tour of the Israel-Egypt border fence that he “has committed to the return of all the tens of thousands of African infiltrators to their countries of origin or to other countries.” (Ynetnews)

(Hebrew – Ynet)

After it was reported that an 83 year old woman was raped by an Eritrean asylum seeker, dozens of right-wing activists and residents of southern Tel-Aviv held a demonstration demanding that the state expel African migrants and left-wing activists. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew- Walla!)

The Supreme Court has decided to reduce the sentence of a Nigerian national convicted of robbery in Tel-aviv and sentenced to three and a half years in prison by the Tel-Aviv District Court.  The District Court Judge, Zvi Gurfinkel, wrote in his ruling that “a message needs to be sent to the population living in this area.”  The Supreme Court criticized the ruling’s wording, stating that “there was no place for generalizations”, and reduced the sentence by 10 months. (Ynetnews)

(Hebrew – Ynet)

After a court ordered the release from detention of Yutback Dangyut, a 28 year old asylum seeker from South Sudan, the Israel Population and Immigration Authority decided to exploit a week-long delay given by the court for the state to appeal the decision in order to try and deport Dangyut. (Haaretz)

(Hebrew – Haaretz)

According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel’s (ACRI) annual report on the State of Human Rights in Israel and the OPT 2012, the Ministry of Interior’s procedure for granting asylum in Israel is inconsistent with international standards.  Furthermore, the procedure violates the right of claim of asylum seekers; asylum interviews are unfair, humiliating and threatening, and the research concerning the asylum seekers’ countries of origin is biased, selective and unprofessional.  In the two years in which the Ministry has been processing asylum requests, only a single person was recognized as a refugee, out of approximately 8,000 asylum reqeusts. (ACRI)

(Hebrew – ACRI)

According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel’s (ACRI) Annual Report on the State of Human Rights in Israel and the OPT 2012, the past year has seen a record in incitement and violence towards asylum seekers.  Fire bombs were thrown at homes and a kindergarden for the children of asylum seekers, apartments of asylum seekers were torched, and asylum seekers were stabbed.  Public figures and senior government officials made racist remarks, declaring that asylum seekers are criminals and that they spread disease. (ACRI)

(Hebrew – ACRI)

The parents of children attending a kindergarten in Tel-Aviv’s Sheinkin street, raised objections to a visit by the children of African asylum seekers and refugees in the kindergarten, claiming they feared infections. (Ynetnews)

(Hebrew – Ynet)