Friday's event in Tel Aviv
Photo: Dror Einav
Benefit concert: We must help refugees
Organizer says sending African migrants to detention centers contradicts Israel's 'humanitarian obligations'
A benefit concert organized by the "We Are Refugees" organization was held in Tel Aviv's Levontin 7 club Friday night with the participation of some of Israel's top musicians, including Efrat Gosh, Barry Sacharoff and Amir Lev.
"I hope Tel Aviv goes back to being a haven, and not only for Jewish refugees," Sacharoff said after the show.
Life in Israel
Yael Branovsky
State doesn't want to help us, says frustrated father whose wife and three children boarded deportation flight to African country on Monday night
"We Are Refugees" was established to provide legal consultation to African migrants who had entered Israel through the Egyptian border and have since been held in detention centers. "Israel has decided not to decide on any policy, and the solution of sending the refugees to detention centers goes against the State of Israel's humanitarian obligations," said Itamar Man, the group's chairman.
Man says in many cases authorities do not believe refugees who came from volatile areas in Sudan or Eritrea and send immediately put them to jail.
Ahmed, one of the refugees, made his way to Israel from Darfur some three years ago. He recently learned that his father and his sister's husband had been murdered because the opposed the regime. "I was jailed as soon as I arrived in Israel, but was later released. I've been in Israel three years but only worked for a month. My friends, who are also refugees, help me out, so I can eat. I know if I return to Sudan I'll be killed. On the other hand, I don’t want to go back to jail," he said.
Former Knesset Member Zehava Gal-On, who is a member of "We Are Refugees" board of directors, said "Instead of checking the refugees' status, the State simply sends them to jail."
Singer-songwriter Lev said, "They (refugees) are a minority in Israel, and we must help them."
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
