25 aug 2015
African asylum seekers are being released as a result of High Court ruling which places limits on the length of detention.
Hundreds of asylum seekers are set to be freed from the Holot detention center in southern Israel on Tuesday, as a result of a High Court of Justice ruling that limits the amount of time an individual can be detained without trial to one year.
As of 8 am Tuesday morning, around 600 asylum seekers have begun undergoing a hearing process with members of the Administration of Population and Immigration.
In a bid to reassure the public in the cities hardest hit by the immigration wave, Public Security Minister Silvan Shalom drafted a plan denying the freed migrants entrance to Tel Aviv or Eilat which was approved by the regional courts on Sunday.
Human rights organizations have warned that many of the freed asylum seekers previously lived in the cities they are barred from entering and as such will have no where to go.
Holot is an "open" detention facility where asylum seekers are held without trial. As the first trickle of asylum seekers was freed, Ynet spoke to Isaac Hamed, an asylum seeker from Darfur,"I would like to thank the judges, this place is really tough," he said. "I don’t know what I will do, but I will act according to the law and will not go to Tel Aviv or Eilat. I will go back to Arad but I don’t know how I will find work there."
A total of 1,178 asylum seekers are set to be freed from Holot in the coming days.
The ruling angered residents of southern Tel Aviv where locals have felt the brunt of Israel's African immigration crises with tens of thousands of illegal residents remaining in the area.
Eilat has also been a central destination for those arriving from across the Egyptian border with 10 percent of its population currently made up of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
Hundreds of asylum seekers are set to be freed from the Holot detention center in southern Israel on Tuesday, as a result of a High Court of Justice ruling that limits the amount of time an individual can be detained without trial to one year.
As of 8 am Tuesday morning, around 600 asylum seekers have begun undergoing a hearing process with members of the Administration of Population and Immigration.
In a bid to reassure the public in the cities hardest hit by the immigration wave, Public Security Minister Silvan Shalom drafted a plan denying the freed migrants entrance to Tel Aviv or Eilat which was approved by the regional courts on Sunday.
Human rights organizations have warned that many of the freed asylum seekers previously lived in the cities they are barred from entering and as such will have no where to go.
Holot is an "open" detention facility where asylum seekers are held without trial. As the first trickle of asylum seekers was freed, Ynet spoke to Isaac Hamed, an asylum seeker from Darfur,"I would like to thank the judges, this place is really tough," he said. "I don’t know what I will do, but I will act according to the law and will not go to Tel Aviv or Eilat. I will go back to Arad but I don’t know how I will find work there."
A total of 1,178 asylum seekers are set to be freed from Holot in the coming days.
The ruling angered residents of southern Tel Aviv where locals have felt the brunt of Israel's African immigration crises with tens of thousands of illegal residents remaining in the area.
Eilat has also been a central destination for those arriving from across the Egyptian border with 10 percent of its population currently made up of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
12 aug 2015
Israel's controversial justice minister Wednesday admitted her mistake after posting a video online purporting to show a black migrant attacking a resident when the footage was apparently recorded in another country.
Ayelet Shaked posted the video on her Facebook page Tuesday as the High Court was poised to rule on a law related to illegal immigrants with the aim of showing the "intolerable" situation facing residents of southern Tel Aviv.
"There was indeed an error," Shaked, of the right-wing Jewish Home party, told army radio, adding she had removed the video from her page.
Some local media reported that the video had been recorded in Turkey.
Many migrants entering Israel illegally from Africa live in poor neighborhoods in southern Tel Aviv. Some residents have reacted angrily to their presence, and Shaked, known for her right-wing political stances, has taken a hard line against illegal immigrants.
It is not the first time Shaked has sparked controversy with a Facebook post. Last year, she endorsed an article written in 2002 that labelled Palestinian militants as "snakes", described "the entire Palestinian people (as) the enemy" and said anyone supporting terror should be killed.
The post quickly disappeared from her Facebook page, but not before it was reported by the Israeli media. Israel's top court on Tuesday overturned a provision of a law that would have allowed illegal immigrants to be held for up to 20 months without trial.
The court ruled that 20 months was a "disproportionate" period, though other provisions in the law were approved.Official figures show that nearly 50,000 Africans are in Israel illegally, mostly from Eritrea, which is regularly accused of human rights abuses, and from war-ravaged South Sudan.
Ayelet Shaked posted the video on her Facebook page Tuesday as the High Court was poised to rule on a law related to illegal immigrants with the aim of showing the "intolerable" situation facing residents of southern Tel Aviv.
"There was indeed an error," Shaked, of the right-wing Jewish Home party, told army radio, adding she had removed the video from her page.
Some local media reported that the video had been recorded in Turkey.
Many migrants entering Israel illegally from Africa live in poor neighborhoods in southern Tel Aviv. Some residents have reacted angrily to their presence, and Shaked, known for her right-wing political stances, has taken a hard line against illegal immigrants.
It is not the first time Shaked has sparked controversy with a Facebook post. Last year, she endorsed an article written in 2002 that labelled Palestinian militants as "snakes", described "the entire Palestinian people (as) the enemy" and said anyone supporting terror should be killed.
The post quickly disappeared from her Facebook page, but not before it was reported by the Israeli media. Israel's top court on Tuesday overturned a provision of a law that would have allowed illegal immigrants to be held for up to 20 months without trial.
The court ruled that 20 months was a "disproportionate" period, though other provisions in the law were approved.Official figures show that nearly 50,000 Africans are in Israel illegally, mostly from Eritrea, which is regularly accused of human rights abuses, and from war-ravaged South Sudan.
11 aug 2015
Court rejects most of petition filed by human rights organizations against third version of bill, but strikes down clause allowing detention exceeding 12 months; nearly 1,200 to be released within two weeks.
Nine Supreme Court justices on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by human rights groups regarding the legality of the third and most recent version of the so-called "Infiltration Prevention Law", with the exception of the clause ruling that illegal migrants and asylum seekers could be held for up to 20 months in the Holot facility.
The court said it unanimously rejected the petitioners' objection to the clause allowing new asylum seekers to be held in custody for up to three months. This was the third time in less than two years that the court altered elements of the law.
The controversial amendment included two clauses. The first sought to permit detaining new asylum seekers for up to three months in the Saharonim detention facility. The second was aimed at regulating operations at the Holot facility. The amendment included the decrease of the maximum detention time for new asylum seekers from a year to three months.
The clause saying that people could be held in Holot for up to 20 months was struck down for being "disproportional". The justices noted that after six months, in the absence of new legislation, no further laws on detaining asylum seekers can be passed.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor wrote that the law was constitutional, other than the clauses setting the maximum amount of time people can be held in a detention center. According to the ruling, this period will remain at 12 months for the following six months. Those who have currently been detained for 12 months or more will be immediately released. About 1,200 people who have been detained at Holot for 12 months or longer will be released within 15 days.
"It wasn't a detention center like Holot as it was created that I imagined when I wrote these things," wrote Justice Naor. "As a citizen, I would have been happy to see my country show more compassion, even towards those suspected of infiltrating Israel to make money. That said, just as we do not examine the wisdom of the law, we do not put ourselves in the role of the legislator. Our role is to examine the constitutionality of the law."
A statement by the petitioning organizations said following the ruling: "The court showed for the third time that the legislature that the legislature did not devote in-depth thought and debate before ordering the deprivation of liberty from thousands of people."
The Infiltration Prevention Act has been part of a lengthy legal saga. In September 2013, the Supreme Court overturned an amendment that would allow asylum seekers who crossed illegally at the Egyptian border to be detained for three years. About a year later, it overturned another amendment, which would have allowed new asylum seekers arriving from the Egyptian border to be detained for a year.
Following these two decisions, the Knesset passed another amendment in November 2014, which would allow detention for 20 months if the individuals were already in Israel, and three months for newcomers.
Ruling on asylum seekers stokes tensions in south Tel Aviv
Nine Supreme Court justices on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by human rights groups regarding the legality of the third and most recent version of the so-called "Infiltration Prevention Law", with the exception of the clause ruling that illegal migrants and asylum seekers could be held for up to 20 months in the Holot facility.
The court said it unanimously rejected the petitioners' objection to the clause allowing new asylum seekers to be held in custody for up to three months. This was the third time in less than two years that the court altered elements of the law.
The controversial amendment included two clauses. The first sought to permit detaining new asylum seekers for up to three months in the Saharonim detention facility. The second was aimed at regulating operations at the Holot facility. The amendment included the decrease of the maximum detention time for new asylum seekers from a year to three months.
The clause saying that people could be held in Holot for up to 20 months was struck down for being "disproportional". The justices noted that after six months, in the absence of new legislation, no further laws on detaining asylum seekers can be passed.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Miriam Naor wrote that the law was constitutional, other than the clauses setting the maximum amount of time people can be held in a detention center. According to the ruling, this period will remain at 12 months for the following six months. Those who have currently been detained for 12 months or more will be immediately released. About 1,200 people who have been detained at Holot for 12 months or longer will be released within 15 days.
"It wasn't a detention center like Holot as it was created that I imagined when I wrote these things," wrote Justice Naor. "As a citizen, I would have been happy to see my country show more compassion, even towards those suspected of infiltrating Israel to make money. That said, just as we do not examine the wisdom of the law, we do not put ourselves in the role of the legislator. Our role is to examine the constitutionality of the law."
A statement by the petitioning organizations said following the ruling: "The court showed for the third time that the legislature that the legislature did not devote in-depth thought and debate before ordering the deprivation of liberty from thousands of people."
The Infiltration Prevention Act has been part of a lengthy legal saga. In September 2013, the Supreme Court overturned an amendment that would allow asylum seekers who crossed illegally at the Egyptian border to be detained for three years. About a year later, it overturned another amendment, which would have allowed new asylum seekers arriving from the Egyptian border to be detained for a year.
Following these two decisions, the Knesset passed another amendment in November 2014, which would allow detention for 20 months if the individuals were already in Israel, and three months for newcomers.
Ruling on asylum seekers stokes tensions in south Tel Aviv
20 july 2015
Saharonim Prison for infiltrators
Be'er Sheva District Court rejects a petition to freeze the controversial policy; Human Rights groups appealed against the new policy but to no avail; there are about 47,000 asylum seekers in Israel, mostly Sudanese and Eritrean nationals
The Be’er Sheva District Court rejected Sunday a petition for an interim order to freeze the Administration of Population and Immigration 's new policy, which allows the indefinite detention without trial of asylum seekers who refuse to leave Israel via the procedure known as "voluntary departure".
The decision means that from now on, the Administration of Population and Immigration can carry out its policy that was frozen after the court stopped it with a temporarily order. Another hearing on the petition filed by human rights organizations on behalf of two asylum seekers against the new policy was scheduled for September.
According to the policy, announced by former interior minister Gilad Erdan last April, asylum seekers who have not applied for asylum or whose application was rejected and who have refused to leave Israel within 30 days as part of the procedure, will be detained at Saharonim Prison after a hearing, but without a trial, for an unlimited period and this is as per Israel's Entry Law.
Human rights groups, including the Refugee Rights Program at the University of Tel Aviv's law department and the Center for Refugees and Migrants appealed earlier this month once again against the new policy after an earlier petition was rejected by the same court. In the earlier decision, the Court accepted the state's argument that the petition was premature, as the decision as to whom among the petitioners would be transferred to detention had yet to be decided.
In her decision Monday, Judge Rachel Barkai wrote that "the concern of petitioners to leave Israel after many years, to another country that is unknown to them, is a legitimate concern, but in the absence of any alleged basis of real danger to their liberty, there is nothing to hinder the action taken today by the State."
"Dubious secret cloak"
Anat Ben Dor and Elad Kahana of the Refugee Rights Clinic at University of Tel Aviv's law department, who filed the petition, said that "it is very regrettable to see proven that the court is satisfied with the State's weak answers regarding the fate of those who leave to a third country under the dubious secret cloak of the agreement, whereas the concrete evidence provided which indicate that those who leave are arrested and required to leave the country was not satisfactorily taken into consideration."
The lawyers added that "the responsibility to pass on information and to monitor the situation of all those leaving is the state's. We hope that after the deliberation on the petition itself the court will overturn the unlawful arrangement, which allows the imprisonment of people without restriction, only because they are concerned, and rightly so, about the dangers awaiting them in a country that has not committed at all to ensure their security."
In recent years, the judges of High Court of Justice rejected two amendments to the Prevention of Infiltration Law enacted by the Knesset, which would allow for asylum seekers to be detained without trial for a period of one year up to an unlimited period of time. The first amendment was rejected after judges ruled that detention without trial and for an indefinite period of time disproportionately harms the basic right of "human dignity and liberty." In the next two months the judges are expected to decide the fate of the law's third amendment which allows detention without trial for a limited period.
According to the Administration of Population and Immigration, there are about 47,000 asylum seekers in Israel, mostly Sudanese and Eritrean nationals, which Israel is avoiding expelling because of its obligations to international law and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Owing to this, Israel has pursued a policy of protection and temporary restraining orders against these asylum seekers.
Human rights organizations and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) criticized the procedure known as "voluntary departure" even before the new policy was implemented, arguing that it is not a voluntary departure when the only alternative is to be detained in the Holot Center . Currently, those who refuse will be to be transferred to Saharonim Prison.
Be'er Sheva District Court rejects a petition to freeze the controversial policy; Human Rights groups appealed against the new policy but to no avail; there are about 47,000 asylum seekers in Israel, mostly Sudanese and Eritrean nationals
The Be’er Sheva District Court rejected Sunday a petition for an interim order to freeze the Administration of Population and Immigration 's new policy, which allows the indefinite detention without trial of asylum seekers who refuse to leave Israel via the procedure known as "voluntary departure".
The decision means that from now on, the Administration of Population and Immigration can carry out its policy that was frozen after the court stopped it with a temporarily order. Another hearing on the petition filed by human rights organizations on behalf of two asylum seekers against the new policy was scheduled for September.
According to the policy, announced by former interior minister Gilad Erdan last April, asylum seekers who have not applied for asylum or whose application was rejected and who have refused to leave Israel within 30 days as part of the procedure, will be detained at Saharonim Prison after a hearing, but without a trial, for an unlimited period and this is as per Israel's Entry Law.
Human rights groups, including the Refugee Rights Program at the University of Tel Aviv's law department and the Center for Refugees and Migrants appealed earlier this month once again against the new policy after an earlier petition was rejected by the same court. In the earlier decision, the Court accepted the state's argument that the petition was premature, as the decision as to whom among the petitioners would be transferred to detention had yet to be decided.
In her decision Monday, Judge Rachel Barkai wrote that "the concern of petitioners to leave Israel after many years, to another country that is unknown to them, is a legitimate concern, but in the absence of any alleged basis of real danger to their liberty, there is nothing to hinder the action taken today by the State."
"Dubious secret cloak"
Anat Ben Dor and Elad Kahana of the Refugee Rights Clinic at University of Tel Aviv's law department, who filed the petition, said that "it is very regrettable to see proven that the court is satisfied with the State's weak answers regarding the fate of those who leave to a third country under the dubious secret cloak of the agreement, whereas the concrete evidence provided which indicate that those who leave are arrested and required to leave the country was not satisfactorily taken into consideration."
The lawyers added that "the responsibility to pass on information and to monitor the situation of all those leaving is the state's. We hope that after the deliberation on the petition itself the court will overturn the unlawful arrangement, which allows the imprisonment of people without restriction, only because they are concerned, and rightly so, about the dangers awaiting them in a country that has not committed at all to ensure their security."
In recent years, the judges of High Court of Justice rejected two amendments to the Prevention of Infiltration Law enacted by the Knesset, which would allow for asylum seekers to be detained without trial for a period of one year up to an unlimited period of time. The first amendment was rejected after judges ruled that detention without trial and for an indefinite period of time disproportionately harms the basic right of "human dignity and liberty." In the next two months the judges are expected to decide the fate of the law's third amendment which allows detention without trial for a limited period.
According to the Administration of Population and Immigration, there are about 47,000 asylum seekers in Israel, mostly Sudanese and Eritrean nationals, which Israel is avoiding expelling because of its obligations to international law and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Owing to this, Israel has pursued a policy of protection and temporary restraining orders against these asylum seekers.
Human rights organizations and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) criticized the procedure known as "voluntary departure" even before the new policy was implemented, arguing that it is not a voluntary departure when the only alternative is to be detained in the Holot Center . Currently, those who refuse will be to be transferred to Saharonim Prison.
8 july 2015
Human rights organization says dietary needs of detainees at the Holot facility are not met, and that the state takes too long to respond to asylum requests, leaving detainees with no time to appeal rejection.
A human rights organization said in a report released Wednesday that it has found serious shortcomings in the conditions at the Holot detention center, where 1,600 African asylum seekers are held without trial.
The report quotes testimonies from dozens of Eritreans held in Holot, whose requests for asylum have been rejected. In accordance with the strict new policy of the Population and Immigration Authority, they are facing imprisonment for an undetermined period of time at the Saharonim prison over their refusal to leave to a third country.
Out of 43 asylum seekers held in Holot who filed asylum requests, 19 were rejected after being summoned to the Population and Immigration Authority and presented with the choice of leaving Israel to Rwanda or being imprisoned in Saharonim, while 24 others were rejected before even being summoned.
Twenty of those 24 said they escaped Eritrea after serving in the Eritrean military under slavery conditions for a decade on average, with some serving for 20 years or more. Half of them were imprisoned in Eritrea and describe torture and lengthy imprisonment periods in underground cells. These testimonies, however, do not match those appearing in international reports, including a report by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea that was released in June 2015.
The human rights organization's report brings the testimony of B.T., who served in the Eritrean army for 11 years before fleeing the country. "It's underground. There's no light, you have no change of clothes, they only take you out at night," he said. A., another asylum seeker from Eritrea, said: "I served in the army for nine years and left because there is no end to the military service.
There's no democracy and you can't talk... I was arrested because I was told I was planning to escape to Sudan... a lot of people are in prison (in Eritrea), even ministers. There's no court... if I go back, they'll arrest me, put in prison and I don't know where they will send me. All of the people in prison there, no one knows where they are... there is no law there. If I return there I'm looking at prison or death."
The report's authors said despite expressing this fear of death upon returning to Eritrea and despite their testimonies of the difficult situation in their home country, the asylum seekers are faced with Israel's uniform rejection of all requests, according to which "absenteeism from military service or defection are not sufficient in order to prove persecution according to the Human Rights Convention."
The report's authors dispute this response, saying the United Nation High Commission for Refugees recognizes Eritreans fleeing military service as refugees. According to the report, 1,213 of the detainees in Holot (more than half) were imprisoned in the Soharsanim prison for 1-3 months by Population and Immigration Authority officials who are not judges. This was done in accordance with the law allowing imprisoning asylum seekers who violated the terms of detention in Holot. The report also pointed to a series of issues that have yet to be fixed in Holot, some 19 months after the facility was opened.
While there has been a significant improvement in health services to detainees, the report said the bulk of their nutrition is empty calories in the form of bread and white rice; celiac and diabetes patients are not receiving suitable food; and the little pocket money the detainees receive from the state is not enough to buy food outside the facility on a regular basis. In addition, the report claimed that during searches of the detainees' rooms, personal items like small heaters are confiscated. The report quotes asylum seekers who say the pocket money they receive (NIS 160 for ten days) is not sufficient to meet their basic needs.
Most of them spend their money on food they buy outside the facility, public transport, and the purchase of soap, shampoo and cigarettes - this despite claims from the authorities to the Supreme Court that the asylum seekers are provided with basic hygienic necessities. The report also notes the state submits the rejection of asylum requests two months late and sometimes even later, saying the delay leaves asylum seekers no times to appeal the decision. The Interior Ministry has yet to respond to the report.
The Israel Prisons Service stressed the report "was done in a one-sided manner. Even though it points to improvement in imprisonment conditions, it also includes some unsubstantiated facts. Forbidden items are confiscated in accordance with the detention center's rules and the confiscated items are kept for the detainees. The food at the center is based on dietary plans made by dieticians and professionals, the same as in other Prisons Services facilities. We serve food suitable to the needs of sick detainees (over 40 people today) based on the instructions of the doctors at the facility. Bringing food into the facility is forbidden for security, health and safety reasons. All of their nutritional needs are provided by us."
A human rights organization said in a report released Wednesday that it has found serious shortcomings in the conditions at the Holot detention center, where 1,600 African asylum seekers are held without trial.
The report quotes testimonies from dozens of Eritreans held in Holot, whose requests for asylum have been rejected. In accordance with the strict new policy of the Population and Immigration Authority, they are facing imprisonment for an undetermined period of time at the Saharonim prison over their refusal to leave to a third country.
Out of 43 asylum seekers held in Holot who filed asylum requests, 19 were rejected after being summoned to the Population and Immigration Authority and presented with the choice of leaving Israel to Rwanda or being imprisoned in Saharonim, while 24 others were rejected before even being summoned.
Twenty of those 24 said they escaped Eritrea after serving in the Eritrean military under slavery conditions for a decade on average, with some serving for 20 years or more. Half of them were imprisoned in Eritrea and describe torture and lengthy imprisonment periods in underground cells. These testimonies, however, do not match those appearing in international reports, including a report by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea that was released in June 2015.
The human rights organization's report brings the testimony of B.T., who served in the Eritrean army for 11 years before fleeing the country. "It's underground. There's no light, you have no change of clothes, they only take you out at night," he said. A., another asylum seeker from Eritrea, said: "I served in the army for nine years and left because there is no end to the military service.
There's no democracy and you can't talk... I was arrested because I was told I was planning to escape to Sudan... a lot of people are in prison (in Eritrea), even ministers. There's no court... if I go back, they'll arrest me, put in prison and I don't know where they will send me. All of the people in prison there, no one knows where they are... there is no law there. If I return there I'm looking at prison or death."
The report's authors said despite expressing this fear of death upon returning to Eritrea and despite their testimonies of the difficult situation in their home country, the asylum seekers are faced with Israel's uniform rejection of all requests, according to which "absenteeism from military service or defection are not sufficient in order to prove persecution according to the Human Rights Convention."
The report's authors dispute this response, saying the United Nation High Commission for Refugees recognizes Eritreans fleeing military service as refugees. According to the report, 1,213 of the detainees in Holot (more than half) were imprisoned in the Soharsanim prison for 1-3 months by Population and Immigration Authority officials who are not judges. This was done in accordance with the law allowing imprisoning asylum seekers who violated the terms of detention in Holot. The report also pointed to a series of issues that have yet to be fixed in Holot, some 19 months after the facility was opened.
While there has been a significant improvement in health services to detainees, the report said the bulk of their nutrition is empty calories in the form of bread and white rice; celiac and diabetes patients are not receiving suitable food; and the little pocket money the detainees receive from the state is not enough to buy food outside the facility on a regular basis. In addition, the report claimed that during searches of the detainees' rooms, personal items like small heaters are confiscated. The report quotes asylum seekers who say the pocket money they receive (NIS 160 for ten days) is not sufficient to meet their basic needs.
Most of them spend their money on food they buy outside the facility, public transport, and the purchase of soap, shampoo and cigarettes - this despite claims from the authorities to the Supreme Court that the asylum seekers are provided with basic hygienic necessities. The report also notes the state submits the rejection of asylum requests two months late and sometimes even later, saying the delay leaves asylum seekers no times to appeal the decision. The Interior Ministry has yet to respond to the report.
The Israel Prisons Service stressed the report "was done in a one-sided manner. Even though it points to improvement in imprisonment conditions, it also includes some unsubstantiated facts. Forbidden items are confiscated in accordance with the detention center's rules and the confiscated items are kept for the detainees. The food at the center is based on dietary plans made by dieticians and professionals, the same as in other Prisons Services facilities. We serve food suitable to the needs of sick detainees (over 40 people today) based on the instructions of the doctors at the facility. Bringing food into the facility is forbidden for security, health and safety reasons. All of their nutritional needs are provided by us."
25 june 2015
Research shows that Ethiopian Israelis have less education on average than other Jewish Israelis and have lower quality jobs with less pay; while the situation is better for the younger generation, major gaps remain.
Around half of women and 17 percent of men among employed Ethiopian immigrants who moved to Israel after the age of 12 work in cleaning and cooking, according to a new study by the Taub Center for Social Policy Research in Israel. In comparison, around 3.5 percent of non-Ethiopian Jewish men and women are employed in these jobs.
The study was based on Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) figures from 1998-2013, but researchers believe that the situation has not changed since then. The study did point to an improvement in the rate of education and employment for young Israelis of Ethiopian origin compared to the previous generation, but the road to equality is still long, the researchers found.
According to the CBS, the gross income of an Ethiopian immigrant household in 2013 was NIS 11,453 a month – about 35 percent less than the average income for the general population, which stood at NIS 17,711 per household. According to the study's researchers, Hadas Fuchs and Gilad Brand, this gap might be explained by disparities in education, type of employment, and salaries.
The study was based on Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) figures from 1998-2013, but researchers believe that the situation has not changed since then. The study did point to an improvement in the rate of education and employment for young Israelis of Ethiopian origin compared to the previous generation, but the road to equality is still long, the researchers found.
According to the CBS, the gross income of an Ethiopian immigrant household in 2013 was NIS 11,453 a month – about 35 percent less than the average income for the general population, which stood at NIS 17,711 per household. According to the study's researchers, Hadas Fuchs and Gilad Brand, this gap might be explained by disparities in education, type of employment, and salaries.
Gaps in education are narrowing, but are far from disappearing. Fuchs and Brand found that the rate of Bagrut certificates (the Israeli matriculation certificate required to complete high school) among students of Ethiopian origin who were born in Israel or immigrated at a young age stood at 53 percent, compared to 75 percent of Jews who are not of Ethiopian origin.
The study found a similar trend in the world of higher education. Among Israelis of Ethiopian origin educated in Israel, 20 percent have an academic degree – around half of the rate among the general Jewish population. Among those who came from Ethiopia after the age of 12, the rate is only six percent, and out of this group, most of those holding a degree are people who arrived in Israel before the age of 18.
A more encouraging finding is the improvement in high-school education compared to the previous generation. Thirty six percent of Israelis of Ethiopian origin who came to Israel at an older age completed high school, while the rate among those who were educated in Israel is around 90 percent – similar to the general Jewish population.
The study showed a marked increase in the employment rate among Ethiopian women, but most hold low-wage positions.
The employment rate among Ethiopian immigrants aged 25-54 rose significantly over the course of a decade, stabilizing in 2009-2011 at around 72 percent – a figure only slightly lower than the employment rate among the general Jewish population, which is about 79 percent.
The increase was evident for both genders, but was particularly striking among women: While only about 35 percent of Ethiopian women were employed in 1998-2000, compared to nearly 65 percent in 2009-2011.
The study noted that much like education, employment among those who were educated in Israel is greater than among those who immigrated at an older age. But these younger Ethiopians' employment still lags behind the general Jewish population in certain respects. About one fifth of Ethiopians educated in Israel are employed in the upper tiers of the job market, around half the proportion among the general Jewish population.
Researchers further found that a relatively high proportion of Ethiopians who moved to Israel at older ages work in cleaning and cooking, although the study noted that this finding was specific to workers who arrived at the age of 13 and older.
Among Ethiopian immigrants who were educated in Israel, the rate of employment in cleaning jobs is similar to the general Jewish population – 3.9 percent.
Around half of women and 17 percent of men among employed Ethiopian immigrants who moved to Israel after the age of 12 work in cleaning and cooking, according to a new study by the Taub Center for Social Policy Research in Israel. In comparison, around 3.5 percent of non-Ethiopian Jewish men and women are employed in these jobs.
The study was based on Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) figures from 1998-2013, but researchers believe that the situation has not changed since then. The study did point to an improvement in the rate of education and employment for young Israelis of Ethiopian origin compared to the previous generation, but the road to equality is still long, the researchers found.
According to the CBS, the gross income of an Ethiopian immigrant household in 2013 was NIS 11,453 a month – about 35 percent less than the average income for the general population, which stood at NIS 17,711 per household. According to the study's researchers, Hadas Fuchs and Gilad Brand, this gap might be explained by disparities in education, type of employment, and salaries.
The study was based on Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) figures from 1998-2013, but researchers believe that the situation has not changed since then. The study did point to an improvement in the rate of education and employment for young Israelis of Ethiopian origin compared to the previous generation, but the road to equality is still long, the researchers found.
According to the CBS, the gross income of an Ethiopian immigrant household in 2013 was NIS 11,453 a month – about 35 percent less than the average income for the general population, which stood at NIS 17,711 per household. According to the study's researchers, Hadas Fuchs and Gilad Brand, this gap might be explained by disparities in education, type of employment, and salaries.
Gaps in education are narrowing, but are far from disappearing. Fuchs and Brand found that the rate of Bagrut certificates (the Israeli matriculation certificate required to complete high school) among students of Ethiopian origin who were born in Israel or immigrated at a young age stood at 53 percent, compared to 75 percent of Jews who are not of Ethiopian origin.
The study found a similar trend in the world of higher education. Among Israelis of Ethiopian origin educated in Israel, 20 percent have an academic degree – around half of the rate among the general Jewish population. Among those who came from Ethiopia after the age of 12, the rate is only six percent, and out of this group, most of those holding a degree are people who arrived in Israel before the age of 18.
A more encouraging finding is the improvement in high-school education compared to the previous generation. Thirty six percent of Israelis of Ethiopian origin who came to Israel at an older age completed high school, while the rate among those who were educated in Israel is around 90 percent – similar to the general Jewish population.
The study showed a marked increase in the employment rate among Ethiopian women, but most hold low-wage positions.
The employment rate among Ethiopian immigrants aged 25-54 rose significantly over the course of a decade, stabilizing in 2009-2011 at around 72 percent – a figure only slightly lower than the employment rate among the general Jewish population, which is about 79 percent.
The increase was evident for both genders, but was particularly striking among women: While only about 35 percent of Ethiopian women were employed in 1998-2000, compared to nearly 65 percent in 2009-2011.
The study noted that much like education, employment among those who were educated in Israel is greater than among those who immigrated at an older age. But these younger Ethiopians' employment still lags behind the general Jewish population in certain respects. About one fifth of Ethiopians educated in Israel are employed in the upper tiers of the job market, around half the proportion among the general Jewish population.
Researchers further found that a relatively high proportion of Ethiopians who moved to Israel at older ages work in cleaning and cooking, although the study noted that this finding was specific to workers who arrived at the age of 13 and older.
Among Ethiopian immigrants who were educated in Israel, the rate of employment in cleaning jobs is similar to the general Jewish population – 3.9 percent.
24 june 2015
Despite on-going protests by Ethiopian-Israelis, proposals by MKs Livni, Khenin rejected as hypocritical; Activist: 'Elected officials disconnected from reality.'
Two proposals to create a parliamentary commission of inquiry to examine allegations of discrimination, racism and violence against Israel's Ethiopian community were rejected in a Knesset meeting Wednesday, despite a continuing protest movement that erupted nearly two months ago after a video surfaced documenting a violent encounter between a police officer and an Ethiopian soldier in uniform.
The proposals were submitted by former justice minister Tzipi Livni and MK Dov Khenin of the Joint Arab List. The first was defeated in a 48-46 vote, the second in a 48-44 vote.
Yaiyo Avraham, an activist in the Ethiopian community, told Ynet that, "The Knesset's decision proves once again the disconnect between elected officials and reality. The decision means that discrimination and institutional racism against Ethiopians will continue." Before the votes, Livni addressed the Knesset saying, "Whoever votes no will become a participant in discrimination. It's time the Ethiopian community stopped being invisible citizens. More than trying to find failures and lay blame, it (the proposal) is an attempt to find solutions."
Those voting against the proposals accused both Livni and Khenin of hypocrisy, saying that Khenin would rather see Ethiopians in Ethiopia and that Livni did nothing to change the situation during her time as justice minister. Hundreds of Israeli Ethiopians returned to the streets of Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon to continue their protest against discrimination after the attorney-general decided not to prosecute a police officer documented beating an Ethiopian soldier.
Clashes broke out at the protest at Rabin Square and dozens were arrested. Thousands attended the first protest organized by the movement in Tel Aviv several weeks ago, when full-blown riots wounded dozens.
Two proposals to create a parliamentary commission of inquiry to examine allegations of discrimination, racism and violence against Israel's Ethiopian community were rejected in a Knesset meeting Wednesday, despite a continuing protest movement that erupted nearly two months ago after a video surfaced documenting a violent encounter between a police officer and an Ethiopian soldier in uniform.
The proposals were submitted by former justice minister Tzipi Livni and MK Dov Khenin of the Joint Arab List. The first was defeated in a 48-46 vote, the second in a 48-44 vote.
Yaiyo Avraham, an activist in the Ethiopian community, told Ynet that, "The Knesset's decision proves once again the disconnect between elected officials and reality. The decision means that discrimination and institutional racism against Ethiopians will continue." Before the votes, Livni addressed the Knesset saying, "Whoever votes no will become a participant in discrimination. It's time the Ethiopian community stopped being invisible citizens. More than trying to find failures and lay blame, it (the proposal) is an attempt to find solutions."
Those voting against the proposals accused both Livni and Khenin of hypocrisy, saying that Khenin would rather see Ethiopians in Ethiopia and that Livni did nothing to change the situation during her time as justice minister. Hundreds of Israeli Ethiopians returned to the streets of Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon to continue their protest against discrimination after the attorney-general decided not to prosecute a police officer documented beating an Ethiopian soldier.
Clashes broke out at the protest at Rabin Square and dozens were arrested. Thousands attended the first protest organized by the movement in Tel Aviv several weeks ago, when full-blown riots wounded dozens.
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