African asylum seekers take part in a protest outside the Holot detention center, in Israel's southern Negev desert, February 17, 2014. The protesters called to close the prison and to recognize the refugee rights of the African asylum seekers living in Israel.

Israel to Begin Immediate Deportation of African Refugees – Even without Their Consent

Asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea will face either deportation to third countries or unlimited imprisonment in Israel under a new Interior Ministry policy set to be implemented in the coming days. According to a statement released by the ministry’s Population, Immigration and Border Authority on Tuesday, April 1, henceforth Israel will provide asylum seekers with…

An African asylum seeker holding matzah and an alternative Passover Haggadah outside the Holot detention center (Photo: Ziv Oren)

Hundreds of refugees and Israeli activists hold Passover Seder outside prison

Israeli activists and African asylum seekers held an alternative Passover Seder event Friday outside the Holot detention center in the Negev desert, where 1,800 African migrants are currently being held. Hundreds of African asylum seekers from the detention center attended the event, during which activists highlighted the connection between the story of the Jewish exodus from…

Israeli activists and African asylum seekers jailed in Holot detention center protest outside Saharonim prison in solidarity with African asylum seekers on hunger strike, January 18, 2014. About 50 African asylum seekers have been on hunger strike for two weeks (Photo: Activestills)

Human rights organizations call on the government to recognize the rights of asylum seekers

Human rights organizations: Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Hotline for Refugees and Migrants and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, call on the Israeli government to recognise and protect the needs and rights of asylum seekers in its territory. Israel is home to about 53,000 African asylum seekers. According to the Ministry of Interior (MOI), 49,000 of…