Africans protest over their status
JERUSALEM — Thousands of African migrants demanding to be recognized as refugees protested Wednesday outside of Israel’s parliament, part of a series of mass demonstrations over their status in Israel.
Police said more than 10,000 migrants rallied outside the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, with hundreds more continuing to stream into Jerusalem from across the country. The migrants staged two other mass protests this week in Tel Aviv, where they demanded the right to work and better treatment.
The migrants chanted, “We are refugees, we need protection,” as they raised their hands into the air.
In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which migrant leaders read aloud at their protest outside the Knesset, migrant representatives demanded that Israel release migrants from detention centers, process their asylum requests and enter a dialogue with them.
Tens of thousands of migrants, most from Eritrea and Sudan, have come to Israel in recent years, with many working menial labor jobs at hotels or restaurants.
The migrants say they are refugees who have fled strife in their home countries. Israel sees many of them as economic migrants and has tried a number of tactics to stop the migrants’ influx or keep their numbers down. It has built a fence along the border with Egypt, passed a law that allows for the migrants’ detention and offered financial incentives to urge them to leave.