Undocumented Israeli mother unable to register newborn son
Dalia, Black Hebrew Israelite, cannot register her son with Interior Ministry since she was never properly registered herself. Meanwhile, newborn baby cannot be given medical attention
Last month, she gave birth to her first child, a son named Liel-Hilay. But authorities refused to register the baby. Mor-Wit and her partner Yaniv Tzriker were told by the Israeli Population Registry to address the matter to court.
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Since Dalia has no ID card, and there is no documentation of her life together with Yaniv, the couple is now forced to undergo paternity tests and certifications through court, a matter that takes an unknown period of time with a cost estimated at thousands of shekels.
"We have been living together for two years, he stands by me at all times and he paid for all the pregnancy expenses," said Dalia.
"Since his circumcision, he has had some pus, and we don't know if it's infected, if he's at the right weight. We're helpless."
Dalia was born in the Black Hebrew Israelite community in Dimona to American parents. Her father was responsible for registering the family members with the Interior Ministry, but when she was 3-years old, he abandoned the family, leaving her unregistered.
Since then, Dalia has been living without an ID card or medical insurance. She recently she left the community and moved into a rented apartment with Yaniv. She told Yedioth Ahronoth that when she was pregnant, was had to use a fake ID to be medically examined.
The couple never imagined that their son could not be given an Israeli ID card, which Dalia too wishes to possess one day.
"I am certain that if I had a different skin color, I would have been given help by now. There were cases in the past year in which children of foreign aliens received IDs after politicians got involved," she said. "I was born in Israel; I lived here my entire life."
The Population, Immigration and Border Authority said in response: "The couple turned to our Beersheba offices in order to register the newborn as an Israeli citizen. When they were asked to act according to the law and present a court ruling proving paternity, they refused to do so. The demand to be presented with a court ruling is required in many cases in which a proof of paternity is needed, as it is stated by the law. We recommend the couple follow the rules in order to complete the registry."
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