Eli Yishai

African asylum seekers jailed in the Holot detention center protest behind the prison's fence, February 17, 2014. (Photo by Activestills.org)

Why is Israel refusing to teach African asylum seekers Hebrew?

Israel’s ‘Holot’ detention facility for asylum seekers, which is intended to rob them of so much hope that they’ll leave the country, refuses to provide Hebrew lessons as part of its education program for detainees. The result is empty classrooms and a parallel, asylum seeker-run program. By Omri Du-Nour Israel’s desert detention facility for asylum…

By +972 Magazine August 8, 2017

MK Hanin Zoabi (photo: Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org)

No parity between Zoabi’s democracy and Kahane’s racism

By simply discussing the disqualification of MK Haneen Zoabi and Baruch Marzel from the upcoming elections, the extreme right has already claimed another victory. The double-hearing held in the Supreme Court on Tuesday under an extended panel headed by Justice Naor, to discuss the disqualification of MK Haneen Zoabi and Baruch Marzel, respectively, was…

By Orly Noy February 17, 2015

Shas MK Aryeh Deri (Photo by Activstills.org)

Can a feminist Mizrahi woman find her political home in Shas?

Although it is run by ultra-Orthodox men and its path for social mobility is anchored in religion, Shas remains the only truly socially minded political party and is certainly the only Mizrahi party. One voter’s search for answers. By Efrat Shani-Shitrit A few weeks ago, flyers targeting the women of north Tel Aviv were posted around…

By Haokets February 7, 2015

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Israeli bureaucracy leaves Sudanese vulnerable to arrest

Sudanese refugees from the Nuba Mountains are being registered by Israel’s Interior Ministry as South Sudanese, making it difficult for them to find and keep work, pay for rent, bills, or food, and subjecting them to potential arrest and deportation. How would you react if someone told you that your name was no longer your name? Even…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland November 11, 2012

A representative of the Authority of Population and Immigration checks South Sudanese people boarding a bus for Ben-Gurion airport. The refugees were gathered in a raid conducted by Oz Unit. Arad, Israel, June 17, 2012. (Photo: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

State to court: No gov’t approval for Yishai’s plan to arrest Sudanese en masse

In its response to a petition filed by human rights organizations and six African asylum seekers, the State Attorney’s office said today that the government has not made an official decision to arrest Sudanese refugees. The reply also said that Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who stated publicly that asylum seekers have until October 15 to…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat October 25, 2012

Court prohibits detention of Sudanese refugees days before mass arrests begin

A Jerusalem court issued a temporary injunction on Thursday, prohibiting the detention of Sudanese refugees. The group was slated for arrest and forced transfer to a prison camp in the Negev desert beginning on October 15. The court’s move comes in response to an October 3 petition, filed by the Clinic for Migrants’ Rights at the…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat October 12, 2012

Israeli children deported to South Sudan succumb to malaria

Three months ago, Interior Minister Eli Yishai deported several hundred families from Israel to South Sudan, despite unequivocal statements by human rights group that mere fact of the established state is far from the offering the safety that would allow for these families’ return; the request was at least to extend the group exemption from…

By Dimi Reider October 8, 2012

Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef (Wkimeida Commons CC BY SA 3.0)

Shas spiritual leader may have paved way for attack on Iran

Last week, Benjamin Netanyahu sent National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror to the spiritual leader of Shas, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Apparently, this was done to convince the rabbi of the need to attack Iran. According to Haaretz political analyst Yossi Verter, Shas ministers Eli Yishai and Ariel Attias, “both members of the security cabinet, are…

By Ami Kaufman August 26, 2012

ALSO CAN BE THUMB ketsiot, asylum seekers

Asylum seekers can now face years in prison over false accusation

The Prevention of Infiltration Law, which enables asylum seekers to be detained for three years or more without trial, can now be applied to anyone with a ‘criminal background.’ But what does ‘criminal background’ mean? It’s unclear. By Elizabeth Tsurkov In early July 2012, the Ministry of Interior and the Israel Police decided to allow…

By +972 Magazine August 25, 2012

Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Wikimedia/CC BY SA 3.0)

What is the link between Eli Yishai and Jerusalem ‘lynch’?

Interior Minister Eli Yishai has said that he would make the lives of African refugees ‘so miserable that they would want to leave.’ The recent lynching and firebombing against Palestinians prove to me that it is statements like these that instigate violence within Israeli society against minorities. Interior Minister Eli Yishai has said (Hebrew) that he wants to…

By Yuval Ben-Ami August 20, 2012

S. Tel Aviv residents protest against African asylum seekers

Approximately 50 south Tel Aviv residents protested last night against the presence of African asylum seekers in their neighborhoods. Protesters waved Israeli flags and held signs that read “I voted for Bibi and I got screwed,” “We want a solution here and now,” and “Bibi, you asked [for us] not to take the law into…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat July 25, 2012

Forgotten deportees: Israeli-born children of migrant workers

While Israel’s current campaign to deport some 700-1500 South Sudanese asylum seekers made headlines around the world, the mainstream media has neglected another ongoing expulsion. Originally published in The Daily Beast’s Open Zion. Since March of 2011, the state has been arresting and deporting the Israeli-born children of migrant laborers along with their parents. In the past…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat July 3, 2012

World Refugee Week: A community deported, in pictures

Refugees and their supporters in Tel Aviv mark World Refugee Day on Friday. But amidst what is meant to be a celebratory event hangs a strong sense of unease, as Israel tightens its immigration policies, threatening to deport those who seek protection and to jail the ones it cannot expel. Last week, Israel began aggressive…

By +972 Magazine June 21, 2012