[View the story " In Israel, African migrants under attack" on Storify ] In Israel, African migrants under attack We look at the rising tensions between citizens and asylum seekers. Storified by The Stream · Tue, May 08 2012 12:51:49
Two molotov attacks within two weeks have raised tensions between Israeli residents and African migrants in south Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv Mayor, Ron Huldai has called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to take action "before it is too late"
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A woman stares at the debris after the dwelling suffered
damages from the attacks on April 27 at 2:30 a.m. On Tuesday, two firebombs hit another African asylum seekers' residence in south Tel Aviv. This was the second incident that occurred within the past two weeks.
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A forensic investigator snaps a photo of
three molotov cocktails lined up against the wall after the attacks occurred. Police arrested a 20-year-old from south Tel Aviv in connection with the first set of attacks.
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The
following table shows the numbers and percentages of where the majority of migrants into Israel come from. Eritrea leads, followed closely by Sudan. Other asylum-seeking groups come from: Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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In January, the Knesset passed the
Anti-Infiltration bill under Netanyahu that cracks down on asylum seekers. The
new law allows Israel to detain these refugees for longer periods of time without a trial. Amnesty Israel argues asylum seekers should not be treated as criminals.
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Here, the
Ktzi'ot Prison in the Negev desert will serve as the world's largest holding facility for asylum seekers and migrants coming into the country under the new Anti-Infiltration bill. It will be able to hold up to 11,000 people. Since 1949, Israel recognised only 170 people seeking asylum. Around 7,000 refugees have crossed Israel's southern border since the beginning of 2012.
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This
2012 graph shows the number of African immigrants into Israel in relation to the year. In south Tel Aviv, there are nearly 50,000 African migrants are seeking asylum.
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Many are asking whether this is an issue of racism. This
video shows an experiment where Israelis are asked to sign a faux petition to stop the deportation of refugees. The video shows that European refugees gain more Israeli sympathy than the subject of stopping the deportation of African migrants.
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In this video Ben Ari, a Knesset member, calls for the exile of Sudanese people out of Israel. Other activists shown in the video demand justice for the African refugees seeking asylum in the country. Tel Aviv Mayor, Ron Huldai, warned Netanyahu that residents will turn to crime if government is unwilling to tackle the issue of African migrants.
Anti-African Rally in Tel Avivbluepilgrimage
Violence has increased as tensions rise between the Israeli citizens and African immigrants. Some Israelis who fear the backlash of violence from the African migrants, including state-employed Rabbis, are fighting to prohibit realtors to rent to them.
Israeli mercenary firm proposes "violent action" against African refugeesThe Israeli daily Maariv recently reported [in Hebrew] that BTS, a mercenary firm run by a former Israeli army colonel and veteran bodygu...
South Tel Aviv realtors: We won't rent to 'infiltrators'Racial tensions continue to rise in south Tel Aviv. On Monday, a coalition of real estate agents and landlords who deal in apartments in ...
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This documentary by filmmaker David Sheen looks at how racism in Israel against African migrants is rooted in the fear of demographic threats.
Racism Report: Africans in Israelbluepilgrimage
Sheen tweeted live from Israel as the recent attacks occurred:
Amazed by complete silence from Jewish Americans & African Americans on firebombing of African kindergarten in TelAviv http://storify.com/davidsheen/proto-pogrom-against-africans-in-israelDavid Sheen
Youth yells: we don't want Sudanese in the country!David Sheen
Youths rush up on African-operated shop, start threatening people inside. When we start to film them, they threaten me & @liatarachanskyDavid Sheen
To be clear not every1 at the Shapira neighborhood meeting was racist but there was precious little holding back those youths from attackingDavid Sheen
Asylum seekers stare at
the scene of where the attacks happened.
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An asylum seeker stands by what was once a couch before the
attack .
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In this video, an African refugee speaks about the hardships she has had to face:
Veronique, political refugee in IsraelBlue Pilgrimage
In this video, right-wing demonstrators call for the immediate deportation of foreigners, while left-wing activists protest against the government's stance on deporting the immigrants:
Feelings for ForeignersBlue Pilgrimage
Refugees stare at what was once a kindergarten after
the attacks left it in ruins. Reports state nobody was injured in the attacks.
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This
infographic shows the requirements in order to be considered a refugee.
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This video looks at the lifestyle of Eritrean refugees living in Israel:
Eritrean refugees in israeledrft1254
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