Over 140 people have been wounded in clashes between Eritrean asylum seekers and Israeli police in Tel Aviv. The violence erupted near the Eritrean embassy when protesters were stopped from reaching the building before a cultural event scheduled to take place there.
Protesters smashed cars and windows of local businesses, and police used tear gas, stun grenades, rubber bullets, and fired live rounds in the air to disperse the crowds. Demonstrators also entered the hall where the embassy event was to occur and vandalized it.
Of the wounded, at least 30 are police officers, and a hospital in Tel Aviv reported 11 people being treated for gunshot wounds. The clashes resumed later in the day when supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime clashed.
Tel Aviv police urged local residents to stay away from the area while they worked to restore calm. By mid-afternoon, the situation was reported to be under control.
Similar events held by the Eritrean community around the world in recent weeks have also resulted in violence, and protesters had requested that the police cancel the diplomatic event due to these recent incidents.
Approximately 18,000 Eritreans live in Israel, considered asylum seekers due to the situation in their home country. However, many live in poor conditions and face deportation threats. A small percentage are thought to be supporters of the Eritrean regime.
Eritreans make up the majority of the more than 30,000 African asylum-seekers in Israel. They fled danger and persecution from a country known as the “North Korea of Africa” with forced lifetime military conscription in slavery-like conditions.
Eritrea has one of the world’s worst human rights records, and asylum-seekers fear death if they were to return. Although migrants who support the Eritrean regime, in theory, do not qualify for refugee status under UN guidelines, Israeli authorities do not distinguish between asylum seekers based on their political affiliations.
In Israel, they face an uncertain future as the state makes efforts to make life difficult and deport them, often referred to as “infiltrators” by some members of the government and its supporters. Despite the difficulties, some say they enjoy freedoms in Israel that they would not have at home, including the right to protest.
Saturday’s violence is part of a broader pattern, as events held by Eritrea’s government and diaspora in Europe and North America have been attacked by exiles. The Eritrean government has referred to them as “asylum scum.”
