Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Donate Sign Up
  • العربية
  • English
  • Policy Analysis
    • Civil Society
    • Economics
    • Politics
    • Refugees
    • Scenario Matrix
  • Policy Insights
    • Policy Focus
    • Policy Labs
    • Podcasts
  • Policy Network
    • Members
    • Contributors
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Internship Program
    • Contact
    • Donate
    • Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Media & Outreach
    • Op-Eds & Articles
    • In the Media
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Contacts
Al-Shabaka Logo
Al-Shabaka Logo
Op-Ed via Al Jazeera English

Israel is not a ‘place of refuge’

By  Yara Hawari on February 16, 2018

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin
  • Email
  • Print

In early February, Israel started handing out deportation notices to some 20,000 asylum seekers, most of them from Eritrea and Sudan. More than 35,000 are expected to be deported or jailed indefinitely in the upcoming months.

The Israeli state has already made the necessary preparations for the operation. In early January, it advertised positions for 100 inspectors who will have the task to "locate, detain and monitor illegal persons". It also established the Assisted Voluntary Return Department, which offers a sum of $3,500 to those it has identified as "infiltrators" to return to either their countries of origin or a third country.

Meanwhile, mainstream media reporting on the deportations approached the topic from the perspective of Israel's foundational myth. Reuters reported on the issue, describing it as "a moral dilemma for a state founded as a haven for Jews from persecution and a national home". Then an oped in the New York Times went further and declared that Israel had "become a place of no refuge". Another oped in the Washington Post claimedthat "Israel is betraying its history by expelling African asylum seekers."

Read the Original Article

An independent, non-partisan, and non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self determination within the framework of international law. Al-Shabaka materials may be reproduced and circulated with due attribution to Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. The opinions of individual members of Al-Shabaka’s policy network do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization as a whole.

  • Policy Analysis
    • Civil Society
    • Economics
    • Politics
    • Refugees
    • Scenario Matrix
  • Policy Insights
    • Policy Focus
    • Policy Labs
    • Podcasts
  • Policy Network
    • Members
    • Contributors
  • About Us
    • Who We Are
    • Internship Program
    • Contact
    • Donate
    • Privacy & Terms of Use
  • Media & Outreach
    • Op-Eds & Articles
    • In the Media
    • Events
    • Press Releases
    • Press Contacts
  • Contact
    • Contact al-Shabaka by email at:
      [email protected]
    • Or by mail:
      Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network
      P.O. Box 8533
      New York, NY 10150

© 2010-2023 Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. All rights reserved.

×