Published: 12 March 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
Phoebe Port, leader of the protest called Australians Against Israeli Deportation of African Migrants and Asylum Seekers, said: “We are Zionist and believe in the state of Israel. For us, protesting against the Israeli government’s deportation of African refugees is an act of Zionism.
“It reflects both the ethical teachings of Jewish text and the Jewish people’s experiences of displacement throughout our history.”
Port, a 23-year-old Sydney law student and artist, taught English to mature-aged Sudanese and Eritrean refugees at the Brgo Community Centre in South Tel Aviv in 2012. “Our students were dreamers. We heard of all their aspirations and future goals, their children and their ambitions to improve their English to strengthen their roles in Israeli society and in the world as global citizens.
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“When Israel announced its deportation plans in January, my heart sunk. I thought to myself, ‘what is the most impactful thing we can do from the other side of the world?’ I sent around a call-out for people who care about the African community in Israel and set up a time to meet at the iconic Opera House.”
Port said that as she stood outside the Opera House, in the company of nine protesters, she reflected on Jews’ long history of victimisation, persecution and intolerance. “To me, there can be no distinction between our narrative and theirs. We too are refugees and our compassion knows no bounds.”
AND SEE
Families from kibbutzim, moshavim to shelter asylum seekers (Ynet)
Initiatives underway for Israeli families at kibbutzim, moshavim, to provide refuge for asylum seekers facing expulsion; efforts to resettle 1,000 African families from south Tel Aviv in periphery cities; resettlement's organizer: 'Government likes the idea.'
Hundreds march in support of African migrants in south Tel Aviv (Ynet)
Some 500 activists marched along the streets of south Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon in solidarity with illegal African migrants and asylum seekers, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea, who have been marked by the government for deportation to Uganda or Rwanda or face imprisonment in Israel.
Main photo: Uri Windt
