Israel and the Criminalization of Asylum Seekers

In 2005, Sudanese refugees in Egypt protested against their poor treatment. The protest was ended violently and the environment in Egypt for Sudanese refugees became increasingly hostile, motivating those there to migrate to Israel for protection. Since 2005, the number of African refugees entering Israel has increased to more than 60,000 from only a few hundred. The majority of registered asylum seekers in Israel come from Sudan and Eritrea.

In October 2012, Sudanese refugees protested again, this time in Israel, against the building of prisons to detain African refugees, shouting ‘We are refugees, not infiltrators!’ and ‘We need rights right now’. According to the recent Anti-Infiltration Law from January 2012, anyone crossing from Sinai is deemed an ‘infiltrator’ by the Israeli state and is treated as a threat. In preparation for enforcing the new law, new detention centers are being built and hundreds have been deported back to South Sudan. Refugees in Israel can be held without charge and denied access to legal counsel for multiple years.

Israel does not recognize refugees, and only rarely processes refugee claims. Low recognition rates are evidence of a system which systematically rejects asylum claims. The explicit lack of refugee protection and the absence of a reliable system of immigrant incorporation has created a precarious situation for refugees coming through Sinai. Sinai is extremely dangerous to transit, with multiple evidence pointing to hostage-taking, abuse, and torture of refugees for money by unscrupulous traffickers. Not only have refugees been criminalized in Israel, in direct contravention of international refugee and Israeli domestic law, but are also vulnerable to torture and trafficking in Sinai.

Criminalizing refugees has important consequences for host societies. Denying already vulnerable individuals access to humanitarian and security essentials creates new social problems. Homelessness, economic marginalization, and racist violence have been observed in Israel in conjunction with the legal exclusion of refugees there.

Israel needs to protect victims and prevent further victimization. Human rights organizations are working hard to provide access to justice for asylum-seekers and re-shape the asylum system in Israel to reflect the growing protection needs of Africans there. In addition to providing humanitarian support they have provided enough information to the Israeli authorities to assist with the protection of refugees. The next step is concrete action to provide adequate legal protection to those who have faced a real fear of persecution, trauma, or abuse in Sinai. In addition, various refugee-led human rights organizations have done excellent work providing education and skills and helping to incorporate new arrivals. Such work is to be applauded, but the Israel government needs to begin protecting victims and prevent further victimization.

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