Social Justice

Voting for Equality?

Interview with Ghaida Rinawie-Zoabi on her candidacy for Meretz and the prospects for Jewish-Arab equality

Climate Justice and Migration

Study

The publication offers perspectives on the complex relationships between climate change and migration and questions pessimistic basic assumptions on security issues and supposedly necessary (market-oriented) adaptation measures, which currently predominate in the political debates on the topic.

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Jewish and Arab members of the coronavirus team at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel. Coutesy of Dr. Yasmin Diab (second from right)

Can the COVID-19 Crisis Become a Turning Point Toward a Shared Society in Israel?

In Israel, as in other parts of the world, the COVID-19 virus crisis is not only a health challenge.

By Edan Ring and Kholod Edres

Asylum seeker children cross the street in south Tel Aviv, March 17, 2020. (Oren Ziv)

Outrunning a Catastrophe, Together: Assisting asylum seekers in Israel during the Coronavirus Crisis

The first confirmed Covid-19 patient in Israel was diagnosed three months ago on February 21st, 2020. Less than a month later, on March 14th, a countrywide lockdown was announced, which included a total shutdown of all restaurants and hotels as well as most other work places.

By Dr. Ayelet Oz

Poll: Most Israelis have a positive view of Jewish-Arab relations

A ‘Local Call’ poll shows a broad range of areas where Jews and Arabs see the benefits of cooperation. But that doesn’t mean Jewish Israelis are ready to let Arabs hold positions of power, namely joining the government. The surprising bit: most Arabs would support their parties joining an Israeli government.

By Dahlia Scheindlin

New trends in human trafficking which exploit the asylum system in Israel

Since 2016 there has been a sharp rise in the number of Ukranians and Georgians applying for asylum in Israel. Data collected by the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants (HRM) shows that Israeli entities, including human resource companies, are involved in this rise by spreading mis-information in the the Ukraine and Georgia about the possibility of working legally in Israel. They charge large sums of money as agents’ fees, and they may also be involved, to varying degrees, in selling fake documentation.

Knocking at the Gate - Flawed Access to the Asylum System due to the influx of applicants from the Ukraine and Georgia

Knocking at the Gate – Flawed Access to the Asylum System due to the influx of applicants from the Ukraine and Georgia Since the start of 2016, Israel has seen a sharp rise in the number of Ukrainian and Georgian citizens applying for asylum. Data collected by the Hotline for Refugees and Migrant (HRM) shows that Israeli entities are involved in the increase in the number of migrants from these countries, and that they include human resource companies, which spread misinformation in the countries of origin about working legally in Israel by exploiting the dysfunctional2 asylum system. They charge high fees for mediation and are allegedly involved in selling fake documents. The emerging picture is that of a new channel of human trafficking3 . Due to the backlog at the Population and Immigration Authority’s (PIBA) Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Unit in Tel Aviv, all asylum seekers now face limited access to the asylum process. Despite the extended period during which the authorities have had to serve an ever growing population, the necessary changes have yet to be made. Every night, dozens of people wait outside the offices of the RSD Unit in harsh physical conditions hoping to be first in the queue the following morning in order to submit their asylum application.

Immigration Detention in Israel - Annual Monitoring Report 2016

This is the second annual monitoring report on the conditions of the detention of migrants and asylum seekers held in administrative detention in Israeli facilities. In February 2016, the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants (HRM) published its first annual monitoring report, which focused on the conditions in which migrants were held in detention in 2015.