To the People of Israel,

In the last few weeks, a range of unprecedented policy changes towards African asylum seekers and refugees have caused us to take drastic measures by striking from our work to display our discontent, frustration and fear.

About 50,000 African asylum seekers and refugees live in Israel. We have fled persecution, forced military conscription, dictatorship, civil wars and genocide. Instead of being treated as refugees by the government of Israel, we have been treated as criminals.

On December 11, 2013 the government of Israel passed a new amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration law, in response to the recent High Court of Justice (HCJ) decision that overturned previous amendments to the law. In its decision, the Court called the law „a grave and disproportionate abuse of the right to personal freedom” and against Israel’s basic laws.

The new amendments allow for one year of closed detention followed by indefinite detention without judicial review in what Israel calls an open facility and what should be called a prison, named Holot, in the Negev desert far from population centers. Individuals held in Holot are banned from working and are subjected to roll call three times each day, restricting travel outside of the immediate area. Holot is closed at night. The law gives the staff of the facility the ability to demand identification as well as to search, prevent entry, apprehend and remove individuals. If an individual breaches or is accused of intending to breach a condition of the ‘open’ facility, or is alleged to endanger the security of public peace, he can be transferred to a closed prison for 3-12 months.

Inspectors from the Population, Immigration and Border Authority (PIBA) have begun to arrest and detain hundreds of asylum seekers in Tel Aviv. In the last week of December 2013, PIBA announced its plan to require thousands of asylum seekers and refugees to register at Holot within 30 days. Despite assurances given by the Ministry of Interior that families would not be separated, tens of men with wives and children have been summoned. Panic has spread among the asylum seekers community in Israel, as immigration authorities have increasingly limited the ability to renew visas, leaving people vulnerable to losing their jobs and being arrested.

In the past two weeks, thousands of African asylum seekers and refugees took to the street in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to march for freedom, to oppose arrests, imprisonment and the disregard for refugee rights. In another appeal to the Israeli government and the international community, we are organizing a three day strike from 5 to 7 January 2014 to demonstrate our fear of imprisonment and deportation and create a pressure that will cause the government to change their inhumane policies. Instead of detaining and deporting us, Israel should be respecting our basic human rights as refugees.

We ask the Government of Israel to:

1. Cancel the new amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration Law; stop all arrests; and release all asylum seekers and refugees from prisons.

2. Start respecting the rights of refugees, including social rights, health and welfare benefits.

3. Check individual asylum claims in a fair and transparent way.

We kindly ask you to support us in our struggle for refugee rights. Feel free to join us over the next few days, for more details check us out on facebook:

Thank you for your understanding.

Kind Regards,

African Asylum Seekers Community in Israel

Here’s a summary of the movement of refugees in Israel, and to organize a demonstration project with them.
Israel, the African refugees (mostly from Sudan and Eritrea ) are more numerous, especially after the war in Darfur and Sudan.
They are accused of all evils by the government, and this has encouraged pogroms from the extreme right. For example, May 23, 2012 – a procession descended violently in refugee neighborhoods in Jaffa , south of Tel Aviv , beating passers colors, throwing Molotov cocktails against their homes …
Government policy is discriminatory , violating UN refugee conventions.
Since December 11 , a new amendment allows a year in prison followed by indefinite detention without trial due to what Israel calls an „open structure „, which should be called a prison.
For more info , read the interesting piece seal appeal to the Israeli people (in anglaisTo the People of Israel.docx ).
This is an act of incredible violence, a precedent that everyone must fight !
This has led to a reaction of refugees : 2 normal events and December 28 , 6000 they were very dynamic and protest . They overwhelmed the police and are very determined .
They meet in open daily to decide what action to control assemblies.
Everything is prepared with at least one Sudanese , one another African state and Israeli support before being validated by an organizing committee therefore statements take time to be validated.
African mobilization is incredible , up : incredible solidarity. They particularly expect a united African support.
The event Holot Jerusalem was peculiar : an energy to break souls, a spirit of pure freedom , without hope, without a strategy , without fear : just, freedom.
Refugees need international pressure Israel to comply with UN conventions refugee law . They do not intend to negotiate with the government, only actual demand the United Nations to take its responsibilities , perhaps by allowing individual applications for political asylum in European countries .
From January 5 to 7 , a slogan of general strike , which puts employers in a panic.
The call to action is also in English, French , Arabic, Ethiopic here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/
I copy / paste at the end of this .
Monday, January 6, 2014 – the second day of strike
9:00 Go to the Levinsky Park and walk to 10 different embassies, including UNHCR , the United States, European Union, Canada , Sweden and others.
www.facebook.com / refugeesmarch # marchforfreedom

At the public meeting today and the coming days will be decided the second phase, after the 11/1 . This is clearly an escalation ( high specific demo, a strike rotating hunger strike calls ) probably based on solidarity with the prisoners of the new camp Holot an open prison or traditional prison Saharonim .
Later, she will send me a formal appeal to the European action.

PROSPECTS OF SOLIDARITY

January dimanche19 is the centenary of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Catholics, on the initiative of Pope , organize a global mobilization. In France , an action ( with personalities ) is organized and in the afternoon , an appointment of manifestation from 14h to the City of immigration to finish before the CRA de Vincennes. Demosphere on this initiative wants to unify the resistance on the IDF .

The meeting of Israeli refugees has adopted its participation in this maturity.
It is proposed that it serve as a springboard for a specific mobilization of solidarity with the movement in Israel. Wednesday, January 22 , we could simultaneously worldwide , we make a procession support a delegation wish to be received by the Ambassador of Israel to give him a joint statement ( written collectively meeting in Tel Aviv) , may acocmpagnée be specific messages.
This mobilization can organize converged with movements of solidarity with Palestine.
In Israel, the message is that their event must also be secured refugee movements in Europe.

Let the success of cetet superb initiative of international solidarity.
You tell me ,

Daniel

NOTE : THREE DAYS OF STRIKE – do not go to work

Israel continues to arrest refugees and to put us in jail for no reason. We strike to tell Israel to release all refugees who are prison and to stop this policy.

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