Around 1,000 South Sudanese and Israelis held a rally in front of the Tel Aviv Cinematheque Saturday night to call on the Israeli government to allow them to remain in the country longer. Since South Sudan gained independence on July 9, 2011, the Israel Population, Immigration and Borders Authority has decided that they must return willingly by April 1 or face deportation. At the rally, members of the South Sudanese community – who according to NGO figures are numbered at 700 and according to the Israeli government, 3,000 – requested they be allowed to remain in Israel longer since they fear for their lives if they return now.
One high school student expressed – in perfect Hebrew – that she understands Israelis are afraid of Africans flooding the country and taking over. But that she simply wants to have a life like anyone else and do the things she likes to do. She said her dream is to go back home, but only once she feels it is safe enough.
I spotted a man walking around holding a cross in one hand, and a walking stick like the one Moses treaded through the desert in the other, adorned by an Israeli flag. He goes by the name Isaac. I asked him what they symbolize and he said, that the two peoples are not at war with each other, but in harmony.
He told me he’s been in Israel since 2006, one of the first South Sudanese to arrive; that he likes it here and finds Israel a pleasant nation. He said that he cannot return just yet, even though South Sudan is already independent, and that in the meantime Israel has refused to issue him work permits so he has no way to subsist; He told me that Israel should not forget its history.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT7mRP13VNY&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
There was a small counter protest of around 25 people on the sidelines of the rally. They were holding signs that said things like, “Israelis are suffering in the south and you don’t care.” It could have kept to simply calling attention to the socioeconomic problems of Israelis that the government disregards, but instead it immediately took on a highly aggressive nationalistic tone. Here, people are chanting “Am Israel Chai” – Long Live the People of Israel.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qyq7Q_eVY4&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]