Alternative Report submitted by the African Refugee Development Center (ARDC) to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the occasion of the consideration of the 14th to 16th periodic reports of Israel Israel’s violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination with regard to asylum seekers and refugees in Israel Submitted 30 January 2012 ARDC is an independent non-governmental organization Written by: Karen Douglas and David Sheen Contact Person Yohannes Bayu, Executive Director Email: [email protected] Tel: +972 3 639 1416 AFRICAN REFUGEE DEVELOPMENT CENTER (ARDC) – Since the establishment of the organization in 2004, the mission of ARDC has been to assist, support and empower asylum seekers who are in Israel by ensuring access to basic social services, facilitating integration into Israeli society and promoting self-sufficiency and ownership in matters affecting their lives. We advocate for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers and for fair and humane Israeli asylum policies. ARDC publishes information on a wide variety of issues human rights issues that affect the asylum seeker and refugee population in Israel, promotes community empowerment and serves as a source of information for journalists and researchers. ARDC’s registered Israeli non-profit number - 580-420271 TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary .................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 4 'Most anti-racist country' ...............................................................................................................4 Non-citizens and CERD ....................................................................................................................5 Article 2(1)(a) Ensure authorities do not engage in racial discrimination......... 5 Government and media rhetoric that asylum seekers are violent criminals...............5 Anti-asylum seeker sentiment from the Members of the Knesset ...................................6 Article 2(1)(c) - Removal of racial discrimination in legislation and policy ...... 8 Lack of implementing asylum legislation and reluctance to grant rights .....................8 Anti-Infiltration Law ........................................................................................................................8 National demographic policy........................................................................................................9 Article 3 - Racial segregation ............................................................................................10 Hadera-Gedera policy................................................................................................................... 10 Article 4(a) - Establishing criminal offences related to racial discrimination and racial superiority..........................................................................................................11 Absence of disciplinary measures against rabbis who promoted racism .................. 11 Definitions of 'Jewish' and amendments to the conversion process to prevent naturalization of asylum seekers ............................................................................................. 12 Article 4(b) - Prohibition of organizations which incite racial hatred ...............13 Media’s role in perpetuating racial discrimination against asylum seekers............. 13 Judeo-supremacy of the Shas political party ........................................................................ 13 Secular discourse: ‘demographic threat’ ............................................................................... 14 Article 5(b) - The right to protection from violence .................................................15 Apocalyptic race war .................................................................................................................... 16 Collusion with terrorists ............................................................................................................. 16 Accusations of betrayal................................................................................................................ 17 Further reasons cited by public against asylum seekers ................................................. 17 Historical perspective: African migration to Israel since the 1960s............................ 18 Article 5(c)(iv) - The right to marriage and choice of spouse................................19 Restricting 'mixed-marriages'................................................................................................... 19 Article 5(c)(ix) - The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association .19 Cancellation of South Sudanese celebration of independence....................................... 19 Cancellation of World Refugee Day 2011 .............................................................................. 20 Article 5(d) - The protection from racial discrimination regarding civil rights .....................................................................................................................................................20 Detention of asylum seekers...................................................................................................... 20 Unaccompanied minors in detention...................................................................................... 21 Article 5(e)(i) - The right to work and fairness in employment ...........................22 - 1 - African Refugee Development Center | Units 4919-23, New Central Bus Station, Tel Aviv, Israel Phone +972 3 639 1416 | Fax +972 3 639 1415 | [email protected] | www.ardc-israel.org Minimal opportunity to secure employment........................................................................ 22 Article 5(e)(iii) - The right to housing ...........................................................................22 Religious edict against renting properties to non-Jews.................................................... 22 Religious justifications for the edict........................................................................................ 23 The effect of the edict ................................................................................................................... 24 Article 5(e)(iv) - The right to health, medical care, and social services.............24 Access to basic medical assistance........................................................................................... 24 Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights .............................................................................................................................................................. 27 Article 5(e)(v) - The right to education .........................................................................27 Discrimination in Eilat education system.............................................................................. 27 Recommendations ................................................................................................................28 - 2 - African Refugee Development Center | Units 4919-23, New Central Bus Station, Tel Aviv, Israel Phone +972 3 639 1416 | Fax +972 3 639 1415 | [email protected] | www.ardc-israel.org Summary This report is in response to the 14th, 15th and 16th periodic reports of the State of Israel to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). This report demonstrates that Israel continues to ignore its international obligations towards asylum seekers and refugees which are predominately from sub-Sahara Africa. Various Israeli laws, policies and practices are racially discriminatory at their basis against this vulnerable population. For instance, Israel maintains a harsh policy of detention, tolerates segregation in the education system in Eilat and allocates temporary group protection to over 90 percent of the asylum seekers who arrive to Israel. As a result, asylum seekers live in constant fear of being returned to their countries of origin to face further persecution. The root of this discrimination stems from the tension created by Israel’s sensitive political- demographic status as a Jewish state. Several of Israel’s high-ranking politicians have demonstrated an apparent lack of commitment in protecting the human rights of asylum seekers and eliminating racial discrimination. Their racially discriminatory and inciteful language, wholly adopted by the media, is at least partially responsible for generating the community-wide backlash against the asylum seekers that is documented in this report. This report is supplemented by a video report which provides visual documentation of the rising tide of hatred, fueled not only by certain Members of the Knesset but also by the Israeli community, and additional material not included in the written report. Whilst copies of the video have been provided to CERD, it can be viewed by members of the public at http://www.ardc-israel.org/en/articles/83. In closing ARDC offers recommendations where Israel could make advances in meeting its obligations under CERD. The report has been prepared with significant contribution by David Sheen, a journalist who has reported from Israel since 1999. In his work as a journalist, Sheen has extensively documented racial discrimination