MOSCOW, October 6 (RIA Novosti) – Nearly 300 demonstrators went to the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday, as the High Court has decided to close down a detention facility for Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers, France24 reports.
Some protestors were heard shouting racist remarks at African migrants.
“Ni***rs, go back to Africa!” shouted some in the crowd, angered at hundreds of African migrants from Eritrea and Sudan, many of whom have been staying in the Holot detention facility, where they are locked in overnight and must sign in several times a day.
According to the High Court’s ruling, the detention facility must be closed within 90 days, meaning that some of the migrants would live freely in Israel, France24 reported.
The protests continued for a second night, albeit the number of people was much smaller than on Sunday. Several dozen die-hard demonstrators rallied on the streets of Tel Aviv, expressing their discontent with the High Court’s ruling and African migrants.
“These are migrant workers and their behavior is unacceptable. Every single person who will be released from Holot is one more robber or rapist on the streets”, said Shai Omer, a resident of the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood, whose father had been robbed by African migrants in the past, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post.
There are around 50,000 to 60,000 migrants in Tel Aviv and the Holot detention center only holds 2,300, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar will attend a meeting to discuss the High Court decision and the migrant issue. Officials from the Interior Ministry’s Population, Immigration and Borders Authority, the Justice, Finance and Public Security ministries, and members of NGOs that support the African migrant community and residents of south Tel Aviv also plan to attend the meeting, reports the Jerusalem Post.
