Half of Israelis say asylum seekers should be allowed to temporarily stay

While 7% of Israelis believe asylum seekers should be permitted to stay permanently and granted citizenship, a total of 30% wish to see Israeli authorities permit their deportation.

By EYTAN HALON
Updated: JANUARY 1, 2019 20:32
A boy takes part in a protest against the Israeli government's plan to deport African migrants, in Tel Aviv, Israel March 24, 2018. (photo credit: REUTERS/CORINNA KERN)
A boy takes part in a protest against the Israeli government's plan to deport African migrants, in Tel Aviv, Israel March 24, 2018.
(photo credit: REUTERS/CORINNA KERN)
Over half of the Israeli public (52%) believe that asylum seekers should be permitted to remain in the country until arrangements are reached for their settlement, according to a new survey by the Jerusalem-based Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI).
Around 30% of respondents said they were in favor of permitting the 35,000 asylum seekers currently residing in Israel, primarily from Sudan and Eritrea, to stay for a limited period of time until their asylum applications are processed and, if approved, that they should be either relocated or found suitable employment.
Some 22% of respondents said they were in favor of the implementation of the canceled agreement with the United Nation High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), reached in April 2018, to permit about half of African asylum seekers in Israel to resettle in Western countries with the other half remaining in the country.
While 7% of Israelis believe asylum seekers should be permitted to stay permanently and granted citizenship, 30% wish to see Israeli authorities authorize their deportation.
Two-thirds of respondents said they perceived significant differences between the motives of asylum seekers and legal migrant workers, with the survey revealing that those distinctions significantly impacted attitudes toward certain policies.
Of those stating that there was a significant or fundamental difference between the two groups, 67-72% expressed their wish for asylum seekers to remain in Israel under various arrangements. Only 20-28% were in favor of enabling their deportation.
“There is a growing understanding, and even acceptance, of the different types of migrants coming to Israel, but there still remains quite a strong opposition and even rejection of asylum seekers,” Arnon Mantver, chairman and founder of CIMI, told The Jerusalem Post.
“We are planning to continue this survey in future years, to evaluate the trends of opinion within Israeli society and the public toward migrants,” Mantver said.
In recent years, CIMI has worked closely with the Population and Immigration Authority to implement a range of bilateral labor agreements with countries including Thailand, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine to foster the arrival of migrant workers to Israel. A similar agreement is currently being formulated with Philippine authorities.
Migrant workers not covered by such agreements and are often forced to pay high agency fees in their home countries to gain access to the Israeli employment market. CIMI says $200 million in agency fees have been saved since the implementation of the labor deals, noting that migrants are primarily employed in fields such as nursing, construction and agriculture.

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According to the survey, 46% of Israelis believe that current regulations regarding migrant workers should be maintained, with 7% stating that all restrictions should be lifted. On the other hand, approximately 28% wish to see fewer migrant workers, and 11% favor a complete ban.
“This entire effort of bringing legal workers under bilateral agreements is a humanitarian goal that really enables them to work and to send money to their poor family members back home,” said Mantver.
“Asylum seekers are a different population, and there is a much greater animosity towards them. But still, quite a large number of Israelis would like them to stay and be accepted, as long as the asylum seekers believe their lives are threatened in their countries of origin.”
The survey revealed that 43% of Israelis support the training of asylum seekers rather than bringing additional migrant workers to Israel under bilateral labor agreements, compared to 37% who would prefer to see asylum seekers expelled and more migrant workers brought in.
Most Israelis, the survey revealed, do not consider asylum seekers and migrant workers a threat to their employment, yet do believe that asylum seekers are more likely to be discriminated against in terms of working conditions (58%) than migrant workers (51%).
There were, however, significant differences in how Israelis view migrants and asylum seekers in society, with some believing that migrant workers are less involved in crime (45%) than asylum seekers (69%).
Only 31% of respondents said they would feel comfortable if their neighbors were migrant workers, and just 16% would feel comfortable living next to asylum seekers.
 


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