News 3

The Israeli populace was and remains divided about the African migrants.  A robust democracy, Israel is home to a vocal human rights community, and that community, including the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants [link], has advocated fiercely for the rights of the African migrants generally and the political refugees in particular.  HIAS, the highly respected American Jewish refugee agency, has also been a vocal advocate for the humane treatment of the African migrants [link to HIAS’s Africa/Israel site].  But by far, most Israelis (and other Jewish communities around the world) have been  more absorbed by what they view as Israel’s struggle for its continued existence as against those who have vowed to destroy it – well-armed, radical Islamists such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iran with its developing nuclear capability.  In any event, the condition of the Eritreans and other Africans in Israel remains of special concern.