Massive protest against deportations in Tel Aviv – 20,000 on the streets

 

A report from Standing Together. Make your donation to them via the British Shalom Salaam Trust to reduce bank charges (see below)


Friends,

Last night we took a critical stride toward victory in the struggle against deportation and displacement, with South Tel Aviv. Yesterday, masses of people stood together in the name of one simple statement: no to the deportation of asylum seekers through policies of incitement, yes to the rehabilitation of South Tel Aviv. Wow, what an evening it was.

We write to you this morning with great excitement. Not because we won yesterday. Victory remains distant, and we’ll need to work hard to get there. But yesterday we took an important step on the path toward this struggle’s victory. It was an evening of hope and clear understanding that this struggle can and will be won. An evening in which the streets of South Tel Aviv filled with people who stood together – veteran residents of its neighborhoods along with asylum seekers, Jews alongside Arabs, the center with the periphery, Mizrahim together with Ashkenazim – in a huge protest attended by 20,000 people. Instead of asylum seekers standing alone in the struggle without Israeli citizens, rather than residents of South Tel Aviv’s neighborhoods struggling alone – we stood together yesterday in one huge demonstration, manifesting that there is another politics and another way.

The prime minister, his coalition members, and extreme right-wing thugs wanted us to fail. They know best – this demonstration is the most precise reply to their attempt to create conflict, incite, and destroy any possibility of hope here. That’s how it is for people who have no solutions and no boundaries – hope is their greatest enemy. But we succeeded – and now they’re afraid. And rightly so, we’re going to win.

And what’s our collective mission now? First of all to continue and to grow. Donate to us so we can strengthen the struggle. Join us to actively partake in building the Standing Together movement.

Warm regards,
Alon-Lee Green
National director, Standing Together


This one is winnable!! But it needs our help.

Donate | BSST British Shalom-Salaam Trust

A remarkable movement has sprung up in Israel opposing the Netanyahu Government’s proposal to kick all African asylum seekers out of the country. Writers, doctors, teachers, psychologists, airline pilots, cabin crew staff, voluntary organisations, rabbis and many others have come out vociferously and uncompromisingly against this latest racist plan. And a large group of rabbis has launched ‘Anne Frank Home Sanctuary’, a scheme netting huge numbers of volunteers willing to hide asylum seekers in their homes.

Jews around the world are also expressing their horror and opposition – even notorious Israel apologist Alan Dershowitz has dug out his old civil liberties credentials to tell the Israeli Government to think again.

Nearly 40,000 African asylum seekers have been given an ultimatum – get out, go to Rwanda, or go to jail indefinitely. But Israel’s already creaking and overloaded prison system will not be able to cope if asylum seekers choose the latter option – which most appear to be doing. So if the pressure can be kept up, the campaign to stop mass deportations is winnable.

Building and maintaining campaigning pressure costs vast amounts of time and money. Many Israeli voluntary organisations have stopped nearly all their other work in order to stand up for the asylum seekers and against racism. They desperately need our help. Please send donations as soon as possible to the British Shalom Salaam Trust making it clear the funds are for ‘Asylum seekers’. You can donate vis the British Shaolom Salaam Trust – by bank transfer (the best way), CAF and cheque.

Comments (2)

  • Rica Bird says:

    this is just so very encouraging, and heartening. Unity, solidarity, truth and justice WILL WIN!!!

    0
    0
  • Hilary Wise says:

    I wish Israelis felt as strongly about the expulsion, incarceration, killing and home demolitions of Palestinians.

    0
    0

Comments are now closed.