https://m.facebook.com/events/245791575598080 January 22
The African Asylum Seekers Committee in Israel is deeply grateful to our friends around the world, who answer our call to support freedom and rights for refugees in Israel.
Demonstrations will be held in front of Israel embassies and consulates, UN and UNHCR offices. Letters will be delivered to Israeli ambassadors and UNHCR officials - Demanding Israel stops its policy of imprisonment, recognizes us as refugees and respects our human rights, OR the UN's refugee agency takes immediate responsibility!
We stand with all refugees around the world to demand all countries respect the UN Refugee Convention.
Please Join the International Solidarity Day with the African Asylum Seekers community in Israel on 22.1.14.
*Our Call to Action*
African political asylum seekers in Israel struggle for freedom and refugee rights - CALL FOR ACTION
International community : we urge you to advocate that Israel stop our imprisonment and starts respecting refugee rights! Israel’s latest policy of arbitrary detention for endless time without trial continues to humiliate our community. We are turning to you for help and asking you to mobilize towards demonstrations at Israeli Embassies on 22 of January 2014.
In the last few weeks, a range of unprecedented policy changes towards African asylum seekers and refugees have caused us to take drastic measures 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.
The Israeli government members have called us a “cancer”, propagating we are “infiltrators” that have come to seek employment. The Israeli Government’s ongoing incitement and hate speech towards us has lead to racial violence and hate crimes against our community.
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
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. We are now organizing a three day strike from 5 to 7 January 2014. On 6 January we march to the offices of the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, The African Union, The European Union, USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden to deliver our message calling on the international community to pressure Israel to stop its policy of detention and deportation and instead to call on israel to recognise us as refugees and respect our human rights
Specifically, we demand 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 demand the UNHCR takes responsibility. Specifically:
1. Hold Israel accountable to adhere to the refugee commission.
2. Monitor our asylum request process from start to finish, in a transparent and fair way adhering to international standards.
We stand in unity and solidarity with our fellow communities of African Asylum Seekers and refugees struggling for their human rights in Europe and across the world.
Our common plight as refugees must be addressed by a joint struggle and demand for all countries to respect human rights and the UN Refugee Commission.
We call the international civil society to support our demands and pressure the Israeli Government to stop its inhumane policies and respect our human rights as refugees
What can you do to help?
- Hold demonstrations and direct actions at Israeli embassies and consulate offices in Europe, Canada, USA and around the world on the 22 of January 2014.
- Send a letter to the Israeli Embassy or consulate in your area to demand Israel stops its policies of detention and deportation, recognizes us as refugees and respects our human rights.
- Send a letter to the UNHCR demanding accountability and responsibility for Israel's fulfillment of our rights as refugees.
- Share our story and raise awareness to the struggle of African political asylum seekers in Israel. follow us on: Twitter @ Freedom4Refugee and Facebook @ Freedom4Refugees in Israel- International Solidarity
If you are organizing a demonstration or direct action, please notify us @ moc.liamg|seegufer4modeerf#moc.liamg|seegufer4modeerf
Thank you for your support.
All confirmed events for 22.1.14 - Freedom4Refugees in Israel- International Solidarity Day:
- New York, USA - Israeli Consulate
- San Fransisco, USA - Consulate General of Israel
- Los Angeles, USA - Consulate General of Israel
- Washington DC, USA - Embassy of Israel
- Boston, MA, USA - Embassy of Israel
- Toronto, Canada - Israeli Consulate- General
- Stockholm, Sweden - Embassy of Israel
- Berlin, Germany - Herrmannplatz (19.1.14)
- Rome, Italy - Piazza Di Porta San Giovanni
- London, UK - Embassy of Israel
- Paris, France - details soon!
- Frankfurt, Germany - details soon!
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 are treated as criminals. We live here with no access to basic services, such as health and welfare.
A range of unprecedented policy changes has caused us to take drastic measures to display our discontent, frustration and fear. Since the arrival of asylum seekers and refugees in Israel we have asked the Israeli government to improve their asylum policies, recognize us as refugees and give us our rights accordingly. Instead, with every year that passes, we have been criminalized, met with xenophobia and increasingly dehumanizing policies.
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 ‘open’ facility 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 three to twelve 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 said they 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 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 Israel’s disregard for refugee rights. The current strike expresses our fear of imprisonment and deportation and pressure the government to change their inhumane policies.
Refugee prisoners in Saharonim jail are on hunger strike since 5 January 2014.
Hosts
Hosted by Freedom4Refugees in Israel- International Solidarity
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=598455740204074
Also see:
http://972mag.com/tag/asylum-seekers/
https://twitter.com/Freedom4Refugee
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