It is not
very often that we hear a criticism of Israel coming from America. As
we all know America is Israel's banker and minder, and in return
Israel is the US policeman in the Middle East, who refers to itself
as, “the only democracy in the Middle East”. So when US state
department raise concerns about Israel's treatment African asylum
seekers, stating that they are being denied their basic human rights,
the situation must be serious. The US annual
report on human rights says that many asylum seekers are refused
refugee status, so cannot access health care. This report also
criticises the Israeli government officials for referring to migrants
as “infiltrators”. It is believed that in recent years,
approximately 60,000 migrants have entered Israel, mainly from Sudan
and Eritrea. The UNHCR states that, last year from 4,603 new asylum
applications Israel received, only one was approved. Their figures
also show that there are approximately 6,000 previous cases still pending.
There is also concern about the fact that Israeli authorities can
reject applications and there is no road for appeal, no independent
appeal process. All our states are riddled with right-wing
politicians, Israel has more than its fair share of those driven by
religious extremism. The US state department report criticises some
of those right-wing politicians, stating that the are stoking up
hatred by referring to “infiltrators” as a cancer, while calling
for all migrants to be expelled. There is the usual claim from the
Israeli state mouth pieces, stating that the overwhelming majority of
migrants are not fleeing war, violence and persecution, but merely
seeking a better life, (in state ideology this is a crime). A simple
look at the war, violence and persecution taking place in that part
of the world makes that kind of statement no more than an utterance
blinded by racial and/or religious hatred.
