Bigotry in Israel: Ethiopian Jews & African Refugees

As bad as Ethiopian Jews have it in Israel, Africans refugees have it much worse, due to the fact that, on top of being black, they neither practice the Jewish religion, nor are descended from Jews.

Ibrahim, a refugee from Sudan, holds a document given to him by the UN in Egypt, as he takes part in a protest held by refugees and activists outside the UN offices in Tel Aviv, June 10, 2012 (Photo credit: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

by David Sheen

Upon her arrival in Israel a month ago, Meron Estefanos had some choice words of criticism about the treatment meted out to African refugees in the country.

Estefanos hosts an underground radio program in which she interviews via phone men, women, and children from her native Eritrea who are being held for ransom in the torture camps of Bedouin gangs in the Egyptian Sinai.

Often times, Estefanos also visits Israel to meet with these individuals, who are released at the Israeli border once their ransoms have been paid.