Israel is deceptively – and arguably illegally – flying African asylum seekers to Rwanda with false promises of acceptance and work.
Israel “Voluntarily” Deporting African Refugees To Rwanda
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Israel is deceptively – and arguably illegally – flying African asylum seekers to Rwanda with false promises of acceptance and work, Ha’aretz reported.
These Africans – who were illegally denied legal refugee status by Israel – arrive in Rawanda only to find out they have no legal status there except for 10 day tourist visas. They are not granted their basic rights and, for the most part, they are not given any official status documents or permits, meaning they cannot legally work in Rawanda and face possible arrest.
They also have no contact with any official representatives from Israel or Rawanda, and no one helps them or deals with their needs after their arrival.
Instead, these asylum seekers land at Kigali’s airport, are given a ten day tourist visa and taken to a hotel where Israel has paid for a three-day stay.
These asylum seekers were paid $3,500 by Israel to “voluntarily” leave Israel – the alternative was prison – and were led to believe they would be granted refugee status or legal work permits in Rawanda. (Some were promised the same for Uganda, where the situation is essentially the same.)
Although Israel calls this “voluntary departure,” legal experts and international bodies believe these transfers do not meet the legal definition of a voluntary departure and therefore violate Israel’s obligations under the international treaties it has signed.
Israeli Prime Minister’s Benjamin Netanyahu’s office continued its belligerent response to questions about African asylum seekers when Ha’aretz asked about the “voluntary departures” to Rwanda under threat of prison.
“The Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu has completely halted the illegal infiltration into Israel and is determined to continue returning to their countries of origin the thousands of illegal migrant workers who have entered here. All actions are taken in accordance with international law,” the PMO’s spokesperson said.
Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority also insisted the “voluntary departures” are legal.
“All the actions being taken in the fight against infiltration are being done legally,” the Population and Immigration Authority insisted.
While small grassroots efforts to help African asylum seekers have been made, the latest by a group of elderly Holocaust survivors, for the most part, Israelis are either indifferent to the plight of these refugees or are vehemently opposed to them.
Indeed, over the past several years there have been a series of arson and other hate attacks against African asylum seekers and Israel's police and courts have done little to punish or deter the Jewish attackers.