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, …
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 …
Tablet, June 11, 2010 A small country intent on preserving its demographic balance, Israel is a Petri dish for globalization’s conflicts, including those being fought in Arizona. Arizona’s controversial Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, also referred to as SB1070, takes effect in July. Proposed by Republican State Senator Russell Pearce, a staunch …
Palestine Note, May 27, 2010 More than 6000 demonstrators gathered in the Tel Aviv Museum courtyard Tuesday night to protest the planned deportation of approximately 1200 children of illegal migrant laborers. The event came in the wake of the news that the governmental committee, convened to determine the children’s fate, had decided to recommend permanent …
The Jerusalem Post, February 19, 2010 Like many Israeli students her age, Criselle, 16, is planning to travel with her class to Poland. Her journey isn’t without obstacle, however. Criselle, the daughter of Filipino workers, might be unable to re-enter Israel when she returns because she is without legal status. Criselle is part of the …
The Huffington Post, January 28, 2010 In Kuwait, the clock is ticking for a Filipina maid who faces execution. Jakatia Pawa, a Muslim from a southern province of the Philippines, was convicted of murdering her employer’s daughter in 2008 and was sentenced to death. But Pawa, 34, says that she is innocent. And her attorney, human …
The Jerusalem Post, December 25, 2009 Zara’s display of a Christmas tree sparked controversy and anger throughout Israel last week. Following complaints from the public, the Spain-based fashion chain changed their window decorations, removing symbols associated with the Christian holiday and, in some places, adding candlesticks to mark the local holiday. A post-chanukah stop at …
The National, December 19, 2009 Over two dozen Thai laborers have spent the last three weeks in the custody of Israeli authorities. But they are not under arrest. Following a complaint on their behalf from Kav LaOved, an Israeli NGO that advocates for foreign workers, immigration police freed the laborers from conditions that some critics …
Mondoweiss, October 24, 2009 South Tel Aviv, home to foreign workers and African refugees, is in turmoil again after Interior Minister Eli Yishai recently indicated that children of illegal residents will be deported by the end of the school year. They won’t be going alone—their parents will be deported, too—but that’s beside the point. Many …
Israel is at war again Zeek at Jewcy.com, July 20, 2009 Israel is at war again. This time, the frontline is deep within the country’s borders—South Tel Aviv. Home to African refugees, foreign workers, and economically disadvantaged Israelis, South Tel Aviv was once a picture of pluralism and coexistence. Indian, Nepali, Chinese, and Filipino workers …