An undiplomatic move

The Jerusalem Post, August 20, 2010 As Shabbat drew to a close Saturday, more than 2000 protestors marched against the deportation of migrant workers’ children. On August 1, the Israeli cabinet adopted criteria that will make 800 children eligible for naturalization, subjecting another 400 to deportation. Observers have pointed out that many minors who seem …

Falling through the cracks

The Jerusalem Post, August 13, 2010 Despite the imminent deportation of 400 migrant workers’ children, South Tel Aviv’s black market kindergartens are still up and running. Sometimes referred to as “pirate kindergartens” or “babysitters,” this is where most of the kids who face expulsion spend their days. Many of the older children who meet the …

Israel to deport hundreds of children

The Huffington Post, August 3, 2010 Maan News Agency, August 4, 2010 After a year-long battle over the fate of 1200 children of undocumented migrant workers, the Israeli cabinet has finalized plans that will lead to the deportation of at least 400 minors, along with their parents. The government also approved criteria that would make …

Children are just Israel’s latest victims

The Guardian, July 20, 2010 Michelle is the 14-year-old daughter of undocumented migrant laborers from the Philippines. In fluent Hebrew, she sums up the inhumanity of Israel’s plans to deport children of foreign workers. “It’s like they’re taking sheep and packing them,” she says, comparing the expulsion to herding animals. While Michelle will probably be naturalized, …

Israel’s ‘illegal’ children

Al Jazeera English, July 17, 2010 For most children summer is a carefree time. But for the children of Israel’s undocumented migrant workers, deportation looms on the horizon. It has been a hotly contested issue since last July, when the Oz Unit, a strong arm of the interior ministry’s population and immigration authority, first hit …