ISRAEL: Tel Aviv residents demonstrate against African migrants they say have taken over their neighborhoods

Record ID: 397626

  • Title: ISRAEL: Tel Aviv residents demonstrate against African migrants they say have taken over their neighborhoods
  • Date: 28th October 2012
  • Summary: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (OCTOBER 28, 2012) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) ISRAELIS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST AFRICAN IMMIGRANTS IN TEL AVIV PEOPLE HOLDING SIGNS PASSING BY CAMERA MORE OF DEMONSTRATION PEOPLE CHANTING AT DEMONSTRATION VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS HOLDING SIGNS AND ISRAELI FLAGS TRAFFIC POLICEMAN DIRECT THE DEMONSTRATORS MORE OF DEMONSTRATION TOWER BUILDING DOWNTOWN TEL AVIV, PEOP
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAD0L9XP3X0ZTEW9PRIO3R6TJH
  • Story Text: Israelis took out to the streets on Sunday (October 28) to protest against the presence of illegal African migrants in their neighborhoods.
    Dozens of Israelis in Tel Aviv demonstrated against the Africans who crossed illegally into Israel via the desert border with Egypt.
    About 60,000 Africans have come into Israel through Egypt's Sinai Desert in recent years. Israel says the vast majority are illegal job seekers and disputes arguments by humanitarian agencies that they should be considered for asylum.
    "Today in Tel Aviv people are afraid to go out of their houses because of a lot of criminal attacks in their neighbourhoods. Half of the people in 'Hatikva' and other neighbourhoods are people that came in from Africa and took over the neighbourhoods," said Baruch Marzel, an Israeli ultranationalist activist who took part in the protest.
    Israel has almost completed building of a fence along the 260 km (160 mile)-long frontier with the Egyptian Sinai that runs from the Gaza Strip in the north to the Red Sea resort city of Eilat, the last gaps are due to be sealed by the end of the year. With only a few kilometers still open, officials say the fence has now stopped the vast majority of would-be infiltrators from entering.
    Israeli ministers have described the influx of African migrants as a threat to public order which could change the demographic character of the Jewish state of 7.8 million.
    Israel flew home a relatively small number of South Sudanese migrants earlier this year but has still to find a way to repatriate many migrants from Eritrea who say they fear for their safety if they were to be sent home.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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