Free Imprisoned Sudanese

A few hundred Sudanese Muslims and Christians desiring safe haven in Israel have made the long journey through Sudan and Egypt to Israel’s Sinai border. There the group has sought asylum. But instead of receiving refugee status, the African runaways have ended up incarcerated in Israeli jails. Despite an Israeli High Court ruling this week demanding their release, a number of Sudanese still remain behind bars.

"If you illegally enter a country, you can expect to be incarcerated. We are talking about enemy nationals who have come here illegally," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. 
    

"We are working closely with UNHCR to find solutions. Our choices are limited. We are trying as expeditiously as possible to find humanitarian solutions. No one wants to prolong these people's incarceration."

Dozens of refugees from Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Republic of Congo participated in protests outside the Prime Minister's house in Jerusalem, holding up both Israeli and African flags. Later, the contingency marched down to central Jerusalem’s Zion Square for further protest.

Jew School's Mobius writes about the irony of Israel's hardline stance. The story of the African refugees finds parallels, says Mobius, in the story of Jews under the British mandate. During WWII, the Brits curtailed immigration to Palestine maintaining an equal population balance between Arabs and Jews. Many Jews who otherwise could have escaped the cholera and typhus-ridden death camps were murdered in cold blood.

The Law of Return which applies to Jews seeking safe harbor (notable exception, the ex-mafioso Meyer Lansky) should be expanded to include all those requiring protection from genocide. The case of a few hundred African refugees should be received with great sympathy in Israel.

Maybe Mobius is right when he says:

I implore all who perceive of Zionism as a people's liberation movement, as I do, to take an active stance on behalf of these refugees. Please contact Israel's representatives in the U.S. and Jerusalem and demand justice for African asylum seekers, lest we permit our silence to result in further hypocrisy and tragedy.

The Washington Times also reports on the matter.