Israel Seeks to Stem Flow of Non-Jewish African Migrants Across Porous Border

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan's Darfur, are trying to find jobs in Israel, but Israeli leaders view this as a threat to security and to the Jewish character.

28 January 2010

African refugees sit in the hallway of a shelter in Tel Aviv, waiting to be deported by the Israeli government (file)

In the coming days, Israel's cabinet will consider an initiative to reinforce the Jewish State's 240-kilometer border with Egypt. The aim is to stem the flow of thousands of illegal migrants who Israeli officials say are crossing the porous border and entering the Jewish State. The migrants are mainly from the African nations of Eritrea and Ethiopia, and many are Muslims from the Darfur region of Sudan. They go to Israel seeking jobs and safety. For Israel's leaders, they represent a threat to security - and to the Jewish character of a country established as a safe haven for Jews from around the world.

Ahmed Badawi Batran, originally from Darfur in Sudan, is among the 19,000 people who Israeli officials say have entered Israel illegally. He tells a familiar story, saying he left Sudan in hopes of finding work and a better life for his family.

He says he and his wife went to Egypt looking for work. There, he says he got the idea of coming to Israel from friends who had succeeded in entering the Jewish State. From here, they said he could go on to Canada, Australia, or America. That, he says, is why he came here.