The richer Israel gets, the more attractive it becomes to Africans.<\/p>\n
From the Forward.com<\/a>: The visit with African asylum seekers in Tel Aviv introduced the pastors to one of Israel\u2019s most disadvantaged, and controversial, groups. The approximately 40,000 such migrants in Israel, mostly from Eritrea, say they came to Israel to escape a brutal dictatorship and an unlimited, punishing military draft. But the government has portrayed them as illegal economic migrants who came to Israel for jobs. The richer Israel gets, the more attractive it becomes to Africans. From the Forward.com: The visit with African asylum seekers in Tel Aviv introduced the pastors to one of Israel\u2019s most disadvantaged, and controversial, groups. The approximately 40,000 such migrants … Continue reading
\nSince 2013, the government has detained thousands in Holot, a detention facility adjacent to a prison on the Egyptian border. Last month, Israel\u2019s Supreme Court ruled that detainees must be released after a maximum stay of 12 months.
\nSpeaking to the pastors about the migrants, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews President Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein said, \u201cYou have your human responsibility as people, as Jews,\u201d adding that the government \u201cneed[s] to do better.\u201d Sibhat Petros, an Eritrean Pentecostal preacher, then told the group about his escape from Eritrea to Israel because Pentecostal Christianity is illegal there.
\nBut it doesn\u2019t look like the meeting will mobilize the Church of God in Christ to aid the asylum seekers\u2019 cause. Pastor Glenn Plummer, who led the group\u2019s delegation, said he appreciated the meeting but that the group wants to focus more on aiding Ethiopian Israelis, not migrants.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t want to talk about the Eritreans, the immigration challenge,\u201d he told JTA. \u201cOur larger focus is to strengthen relations with the country of Israel.\u201d
\nEckstein also didn\u2019t want to make a political statement, telling JTA that he sees the balance between helping vulnerable populations and securing Israel\u2019s borders. But he said the visit was still vital for the trip, even if it shined a light on some of the government\u2019s controversial policies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"