So, what did we achieve in the past 6 months? Read our mid-year report!
The first half of 2022 forced the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants (HRM) to re-adjust to unexpected emergencies, as time and time again reality has changed.
In February, in light of the Ukraine crisis, we have fought to make Israel stand up to its moral and legal commitments towards those fleeing the horrors of the war, while simultaneously marking its ongoing mistreatment of the African refugees who have fled to Israel over a decade ago. Less than two months later, in April, we were faced with the announcement that Israel will remove its protection from the citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), putting men, women, and children who were protected in Israel for over 20 years in risk of deportation. And lately, on June 30, we were confronted with yet another threat to the lives of refugees in Israel, as the Ministry of Interior published a new procedure, severely limiting the right to work of asylum seekers.
We have faced those recurring emergencies by relying on HRM’s experience in promoting principle legal action and public advocacy, while at the same time individually assisting hundreds of asylum seekers and maintaining a close connection and partnership with the communities we serve.
The last six months have sadly taught us that anti-refugee forces are still strong and determined in their quest to make the lives of refugees in Israel intolerable and renounce Israel’s legal, moral, and historic commitments to refugees. We are determined to fight those forces and uphold Israel’s commitments and protect those who need us the most.