Racism: Haredi City Attempts To Expel All Non-Jewish Refugees And Migrant Workers

Inspectors paid by the city, accompanied by other government officials, went door to door and notified African refugees and migrant workers that foreigners are not allowed to live in Bnei Brak.

Ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak moves to evict migrant workers
This comes on the heels of a campaign announced by the municipality earlier this month to stop landlords in the city from renting to illegal immigrants.
By Ilan Lio • Ha'aretz

Illegal immigrants living in the Pardes Katz neighborhood of Bnei Brak say they have been ordered to leave town immediately.

The migrants told Haaretz that in recent days municipal inspectors, accompanied by other government officials, notified them that foreigners are not allowed to live in Bnei Brak. The inspectors have visited dozens of apartments in the city where officials suspect that the premises have been illegally subdivided to accommodate foreign migrants.

This comes on the heels of a campaign announced by the municipality earlier this month to stop landlords in the city from renting to illegal immigrants. Several rabbis have made similar appeals. Some migrants have reported that their electricity and water have recently been cut off without prior notice after their landlords told them they must evacuate the premises. One Eritrean migrant said a notice was posted on his apartment door summoning his landlord to a hearing over suspected violations of the building codes and for renting premises to illegal migrants which are not fit for habitation and that constitute a public hazard. He said he was given a week to vacate the premises.

The Bnei Brak municipality said in response: "The inspectors working in the neighborhood made it clear they were not conducting negotiations and discussions with the illegal tenants but only with the landlords who subdivided apartments illegally and collected double and multiple rents by renting subdivided, tiny apartments to Sudanese [migrants] rather than to just one family. The instructions to the inspectors are just to locate illegally subdivided apartments. Even if a subdivided apartment is found to have been rented to Israelis, action is taken against the landlord."

The municipality said the inspectors are accompanied by police and representatives of the Oz immigration police unit, which deals with illegal migrants. The municipality added: "Those landlords demanding that their tenants leave and those who have cut off electricity to those who refuse to leave have no connection to the municipality. That is a legal matter to be handled by lawyers. The municipality also does not check the occupants' legal residency status and documentation, but rather, just the matter of the subdivision of the apartments, which is a violation of the planning and building laws."

Deuteronomy 10:17-19 says:

For the Lord your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awful, who does not regard persons, or take reward. He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the the stranger; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Many of these African refugees and migrant workers were actually strangers in Egypt, where they were mistreated before fleeing to Israel.

Yet haredim treat them as pariahs and ignore a specific biblical command in the process.

Is this Judaism?

Comments

[soso]

Well, that's normal that the municipality does something against "sleep traders" as they are called in France (marchands de sommeil), i.e. landlords that make huge benefit from renting out at much too high prices to a vulnerable segment of the population, illegal immigrants.

[dlz]

Why is trying to remove illegal immigrants considered racism?

[harold]

This is not fair. All foreigners should be allowed to live in illegal apartments. Housing laws and regulations are designed only for citizens and do not apply to non-citizens. This is one of the benefits of being a citizen, that the government makes sure that you have safe and up to code apartments. Foreigners do not deserve such protections.

[Yerachmiel Lopin]

Is anyone even making sure the tenants are getting rent refunds or being assured of tenancy for as long as they paid.

How can people expected to be rachmonim expel such tenants without worrying about where they will sleep. I find it amusing to see Bnei Brak suddenly care so much about a housing code which is regularly violated in other ways.

But hey, Bnei Brak is a special place. Of Israel's larger cities it stands out for only having about 10% of its eligible young men serving in the army.

[notsofrumjew]

i wonder if all the illegal apartments in meah shearim or in bnei brak near the yeshiva held by bochurim are being looked at also? Thats why this is racism, cut and clear

[Mr. Apikoros]

Now, when will the Rockland County and NYS officials follow B'nai Brak's lead and condemn all dwellings in Monsey, New Square, etc. that aren't up to code, or have too many residents for the septic system, etc?

[Menachem Mendel lll]

Wonderful Article.

Perhaps my parents and the history books lied about the Holocaust and it never happened.

How else can I make sense of such cruel and callous behaviour from a people who claim they were experimented on, hunted down and exterminated.

[yidandahalf]

It does seem, however, that it is society's natural bent to cultivate separatism. Across the board. In all honesty, do my collegues here not agree?

[Joe Bloom]

This is not racism - this is civilization - you can't just have people come into your country illegally - they are economic refugees - they have a whole continent of their own - go to Kenya or South Africa - there must be alot of nice countries there - this is really a story of some people trying to take what is NOT THEIRS - SOMETHING THAT MANY PEOPLE SACRIFICED FOR - FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE - NOT THE PEOPLE OF AFRICA WHO HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY IN THEIR OWN CONTINENT.

[Kookalooka]

You don't understand: the Jew himself is of 25% Erev Rav ancient Hamitic-Negroidal admixture himself.

That is why Jews the world over have always had a soft spot for Negroes! Jews are ALWAYS bending over to kiss schvartzer tochuss!

There is a great blood-kinship between Jews and Hamites going back 3300 years.

[Kookalooka]

You don't understand: the Jew himself is of 25% Erev Rav ancient Hamitic-Negroidal admixture himself.

That is why Jews the world over have always had a soft spot for Negroes! Jews are ALWAYS bending over to kiss schvartzer tochuss!

There is a great blood-kinship between Jews and Hamites going back 3300 years.

[yidandahalf]

I do not see why Jews or any other category of a population not wanting Africans living in their midst should be considered rascist. In any case, what exactly is meant by "rascist"? It would be entirely reasonable to assume that the vast majority of readers of this thread would not want Africans living among them and if they say otherwise, they are most probably victims of their own politically correct self-suffocation or lying. One can bash haredis on this site ad infinatum, but on any other topic, one must observe a level of political correctness that is sickening.

[Michelle]

B"H

Here's a better headline--Racism: Turkey Prohibits Sale of Land to Greeks and Israelis.

Why are we always the "racists" when there are REAL racists all around us!!

[Bubba Metzia]

Why does the article emphasize that the town is Haredi? There are plenty of secular towns doing similar things. Also in the United States, Arizona is trying to enforce the laws against illegal aliens living there. There's nothing racist about trying to prevent a massive influx of illegal aliens putting a strain on the infrastructure.