TEL-AVIV, ISRAEL-PALESTINE, June 11 —Dozens of immigrant refugees, mostly black workers who fled the horrors of war and fascism in Eastern Africa, were rounded up today by the “Oz” unit of the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs (the equivalent of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit.) Violently arrested in the early hours of the morning, these workers were hauled off to detention centers, pending their deportation back to war-torn, famine-struck South Sudan or overtly fascist Eritrea.
This pogrom, carried out under the bosses’ laws, is only the latest attack in the Israeli ruling class’s campaign against the so-called “infiltrators,” workers who came to Israel either as refugees or as immigrants from East Africa. On May 23rd, a mass rally of racists in south Tel-Aviv was led by Knesset Members Regev, Ben-Ari and Danon. During this violent rally, several black passerbys were attacked (with the racists calling them “Dirty N****,”) and a pub belonging to the African community was vandalized and robbed by the incited mob.
In the last few months, attacks against black workers are becoming commonplace in Israel. The bosses’ politicians blame these refugees and immigrants for all the problems of capitalism, namely the deterioration of slums, unemployment, crime and even disease. Gangs of fascist criminal youth terrorize and rob black people in southern Tel-Aviv, KKK style. The bosses’ politicians, aping the Nazis, even called these refugees a “cancer.”
But who are these refugees and why have they come to Israel-Palestine? Most come from two countries: Sudan and Eritrea. The Chinese capitalists dominate the government of North Sudan (which has a Muslim majority,) while their U.S. rivals have long funded the Christian revolt of South Sudan against the northern government, all in the struggle for Sudan’s oil reserves. The result? A bloody civil war killing millions and pushing millions more into homelessness and famine. In Eritrea, the murderous fascist government, a close ally of the Israeli regime and a major client of the Israeli Military Industries, enslaves the working class with hard labor for starvation pay in the name of “National Service.” Others are jailed or murdered because they dare to speak against the regime.
Because of these horrors, caused by imperialism and its local servants, many East African workers flee Sudan and Eritrea on foot, heading to Israel-Palestine through Egypt. In Sinai they are sometimes robbed and kidnapped by local criminal elements until ransomed by their families, enduring physical and sexual abuse while in captivity.
When they finally reach the border between Egypt and Israel, the Egyptian border guards shoot them. Whoever survives crawls to Israel through the barbed-wire border fence. The Israeli border Guards round them up, give them basic medical treatment and jail them for a day or two, then load them on busses and drive them to southern Tel-Aviv. There they are left to their own devices without money, a home, appropriate clothes or food.
The Israeli government does not grant them the official status of refugee. Therefore, based on the racist Israeli law, they are not allowed to work legally, are not entitled to public healthcare and thus have no money for food or housing. These refugee and immigrant workers are forced to work illegally, which usually means being super-exploited by Israeli bosses and being paid far less than even a minimum wage. This leads to super-profits, and, especially, to driving down the wages of other workers by means of competition.
This shows how racism divides workers while profiting the capitalists. By inciting Jewish workers against their black brothers and sisters, the Israeli ruling class separates and weakens the Jewish, Arab and African workers. It keeps the African workers in constant fear of arrest or deportation, making them unlikely to fight for better pay or work conditions, not to mention for revolution.
Having Africans and Arabs as scapegoats also benefits the rich. Instead of having workers blame them for the horrors of capitalism, workers blame each other for crime, disease, poor housing conditions and unemployment. While the Israeli government makes a fuss over the “Refugee Problem,” the workers are blinded to the open attacks on their livelihood like tax hikes, budget cuts, and even possible war with Iran.
The only answer to this virulent racism is for us, workers and unemployed worldwide, of all races and creeds, to unite, cast out the racist ideas and leaders, and build our own working-class unity against the real enemy, the bosses and their state-machine. Progressive Labor Party fights for a communist workers’ world with no borders and no racism, where all workers will have access to housing, food, education, healthcare and all according to need. We will work together based on our commitment for a better future. Join us!
