![African Refugees walking from Egypt to Israel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/African_Refugees_walking_from_Egypt_to_Israel.jpg)
Sudanese refugees in Israel refers to citizens of
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
who have sought refuge in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
due to military conflict at home, and to those who moved there illegally as
migrant worker
A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work.
Migrant worker ...
s. In 2008, there were 4,000 Sudanese in Israel, 1,200 from
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...
and the remainder
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
from
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
. The majority entered through the Israeli-Egypt border. Most live in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
,
Arad,
Eilat
Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...
and
Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...
.
History
The civil wars in Sudan that have been taking place on and off since 1955, the subsequent destabilization and economic collapse caused by the country's infrastructure and economy, and the
fighting in Darfur, forced millions of Sudanese civilians to flee their homes and cities.
In 2006, largely owing to the extensive flow of Sudanese and
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
ns crossing into Israel by land from
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, Israel witnessed a significant rise in the number of
asylum seekers
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...
. While in 2005 only 450 applications were registered, the number for 2008 had risen to 7,700.
The increase in Sudanese entries to Israel since 2006 is attributed to a demonstration by Sudanese
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. s outside
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
's offices in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
in 2005, where
Egyptian police killed 28 asylum seekers. Sudanese asylum seekers also say that deteriorating
asylum
Asylum may refer to:
Types of asylum
* Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome
* Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute
* Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea
...
conditions and lack of durable solutions in Egypt has played a major role in their decision to come to Israel. Since the majority have been living in Egypt since the 1990s, their crossing into Israel can be described as a case of onward secondary movement.
Israel is also perceived as a bridge to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and
its strong economy compared to neighboring countries has encouraged asylum seekers to pursue their luck there.
In 2008–2009, around 30 migrants were shot and killed by Egyptian security forces as they attempted to cross into Israel.
In addition, many
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n
migrants en route to Israel face
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
,
organ theft
Organ theft is the forcible removal of a person's organs to be used as transplants and sold on the black market. While some cases of organ theft are urban legends, others have been found to be true. It is also a commonly used trope in science ...
,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
and
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
by
traffickers in the
Sinai
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
who hold them for weeks, sometimes months, to demand more money. A survey of 284 migrants published in late February 2011 found that over half told of abuse by the
smuggler
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
s that included being burnt, branded, hung by the hands or feet and raped.
In 2012, due to a near-doubling in the flow of African seeking refugee status, Israel began building a fence along the border and publicized plans to build a
detention facility for infiltrators.
In spite of the risks and abusive treatment by smugglers, smuggler networks run by
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
groups in the Sinai desert have transported growing numbers of Sudanese and other African asylum seekers across to Israel.
Legal status
Israel supported the founding of the
1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, becoming a signatory to the Convention in 1954. But although it actively participated in the development of the international refugee system, Israel did not institute the corresponding legal framework at home.
Following pressure from UNHCR, a temporary humanitarian protection arrangement was established in 1999, benefiting refugees from war-torn countries in Africa. In 2002, an Israeli asylum procedure was established with the launch of the National Status Granting Body, an inter-ministerial agency responsible for assessing asylum applications processed by UNHCR Israel, advising the minister of the interior, who held the authority on final decisions.
However, Israeli authorities have yet to devise and implement a clear
approach towards asylum-seekers. Due to authorities' inexperience with asylum, early official responses to the new arrivals from the Egyptian border included conflicting and
ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.)
Com ...
policies. Finally, in July 2008, the government established the Population, Immigration, and Border Crossings Authority, responsible for processing asylum requests and determining refugee-status. In July 2009, Israeli authorities officially took over this responsibility from UNHCR, and since then asylum policies have become clearer.
The Israeli have granted temporary protection, assistance, and
work permits for asylum seekers, but they have also detained thousands and forced hundreds of Sudanese and other African asylum seekers to return to Egypt.
Among Sudanese refugees in Israel, 850 are asking for asylum from persecution in Sudan, including 200 children.
[. knesset.gov.il] The fact that Israel and Sudan lack
diplomatic relations
Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
have complicated the status of Sudanese asylum seekers. Since Sudan is considered by Israel as an "enemy state", many Sudanese refugees have been detained according to Israeli law. But detainees were sometimes released in order to make room for new arrivals. Additionally, Sudanese have avoided detention by registering with UNHCR in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
.
At the same time, Israeli authorities have partnered with UNHCR in Israel to grant some form of temporary protection for thousands of asylum seekers, even granting them access to
social services
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
and allowing them to work.
Although Israelis are legally barred from employing Sudanese asylum seekers, the ban is not enforced, as it is in the authorities' interest for asylum seekers to support themselves financially.
According to a
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction.
The Supreme C ...
decision on 13 January 2011, the
employer
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...
s of refugees and asylum seekers will not be
fined; thus,
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
, they can legally work in Israel.
In February 2015, the government provided figures to the High Court regarding requests for asylum from Sudanese citizens.
Since 2009, there were 3,165 such requests, but only 45 received a reply. Of those 45, 40 were rejected and 5 were granted
temporary residency
In Canada, temporary residency applies to those who are not Canadian citizens but are legally in Canada for a temporary purpose, including international students, foreign workers, and tourists.
Whereas "Permanent Residence" (PR) is a requirem ...
.
[ In addition, 976 of the Sudanese asylum seekers withdrew their requests or left Israel.][ Only four Sudanese or Eritrean persons have been granted refugee status.][
]
Reactions in Israel
There is a mixed reaction in Israel: Large protests have been organized mainly by citizens of neighborhoods in South Tel Aviv who claim that their safety and life quality was ruined by the presence of illegal immigrants from Sudan and Eritrea. Also, there have been demonstrations in support of the refugees.
Recent trends
According to the Israeli Interior Ministry
The Ministry of Interior ( he, משרד הפנים, ''Misrad HaPnim''; ar, وزارة الداخلية) in the State of Israel is one of the government offices that is responsible for local government, citizenship and residency, identity cards ...
, the number of African migrants entering Israel illegally through Egypt has fallen drastically since Egyptian political upheaval began in January 2011. Around 700 migrants entered Israel in January and February, less than half the average monthly number in 2010. The decrease in migrant flow is attributed to the increased violence in the Sinai desert between Egyptian police and Bedouin smugglers.
In February 2012, Israel's Interior Ministry announced that South Sudanese nationals must repatriate by March, arguing they no longer need protection since South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
gained independence. They will be given $1,300 and a plane ticket if they voluntarily resettle, but any who do not repatriate will be deported.
As of March 2021, there were about 6,200 Sudanese migrants in Israel. The Israeli and Sudanese governments discussed the potential return of migrants to Sudan after their normalization agreement.
See also
* Refugees of Sudan
Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the country of Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, Sudan has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental change ...
* Illegal immigration from Africa to Israel
African immigration to Israel is the international movement to Israel from Africa of people that are not natives or do not possess Israeli citizenship in order to settle or reside there. This phenomenon began in the second half of the 2000s, when ...
* Sudanese refugees in Egypt There are tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees in Egypt, most of them seeking refuge from ongoing military conflicts in their home country of Sudan. Their official status as refugees is highly disputed, and they have been subject to racial discr ...
* Sudanese refugees in Chad By January 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are 262,900 Sudanese refugees in Chad. The majority of them left Sudan escaping from the violence of the ongoing Darfur crisis, which began in 2003. UNHC ...
* Refugee#African refugees in Israel
* International response to the War in Darfur
While there is a consensus in the international community that ethnic groups have been targeted in Darfur and that crimes against humanity have therefore occurred, there has been debate in some quarters about whether genocide has taken place the ...
* Refugee kidnappings in Sinai
* Usumain Baraka
Usumain Tukuny Baraka is a Sudanese activist and asylum seeker living in Israel. He is a leader of Israel's asylum-seeking community and the first Darfuri refugee to graduate from a Hebrew-language program in an Israeli university.
Biography
Us ...
References
External links
Faces of Exile
A HIAS Israel website featuring narrative testimony of asylum seekers
Until our hearts are completely hardened
Report on asylum procedures in Israel, Hotline for Refugees and Migrants
The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants (Hotline) is a human rights organization that utilizes direct service provision, litigation, and advocacy to uphold the rights of refugees, migrant workers, and survivors of human trafficking in Israel. In Heb ...
, April 2012
Sudanese Refugees in Israel
The Association of Sudanese Refugees in Israel
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
community
Refugees set their sights on Israel
Plitim
refugees support voluntary association
A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteering, volunteers, to form a body (or organ ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudanese Refugees in Israel
Expatriates in Israel
North African diaspora in Israel
Forced migration
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...