The infiltrators among us

They entered Israel well before October 7, 2023. By the thousands, they rose up from the south, most illegally and unwelcome. Many of them are still among us.

I have worked with some of their children, most of whom were born in Israel and speak Hebrew better than I do. They are my music students in an afterschool program run by a non-profit in South Tel Aviv. They can be cheeky and cheerful, challenging and chummy, just like children the world over. Full disclosure: I adore them.

The Israeli government has labeled them “infiltrators.” They have no formal refugee status, no identification numbers. When she was the Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked published a law memorandum to deny these statusless infiltrators government-funded legal aid. 

Back in 2013, more than 60,000 so-called infiltrators from Africa were living in Israel, having fled war-torn lands for a better life among us. Construction of a 150-fence along Egypt’s border cut the flow of newcomers. Prime Minister Netanyahu tried to deport them. Criticism at home and abroad compelled him to back down. No matter, the number has shrunk to around half of what it was at its peak. Many have gone to more welcoming places such as Canada.

Today, according to the Israeli Population and Immigrant Authority, more than 70% of the so-called African infiltrators currently residing in Israel are citizens of Eritrea. More than 20% come from Sudan. The rest come from other African countries. Children born in Israel of Eritrean and Sudanese parents number 8,000. Only a handful of Eritreans have been granted refugee status, and a few thousand Sudanese fleeing war have been granted temporary resident permits.

The statusless “infiltrators” are not eligible for unemployment benefits or social security payments. The children I teach have the right to public education, which is how I came to work with them on the grounds of the school they attend.

As an Israeli-American, I am all too aware of the challenges posed by immigration policy in both countries that I call home. Americans worry that they have a crisis on their southern border. Former President Donald Trump, as he campaigns to return to the White House, has bogusly claimed that millions of people, many of them criminals and mentally ill, are flooding into America. He doesn’t understand what a real criminally-minded invasion looks like. Visiting Israel’s southern border probably won’t change his rhetoric, because it has proven so successful in maintaining his MAGA base. Politics

Here in Israel, in the aftermath of the October 7 invasion, the loaded word “infiltrator” has taken on even more baggage. The statusless people cleaning our streets and office buildings, riding around on motorbikes delivering packages, do not pose a dangerous threat. They are not terrorists; they are strangers in a strange land.

While battling Hamas, and trying to rescue our hostages, Israel’s armed forces have killed thousands of non-combatants, many of them children. The precise number is the subject of heated debate. Whatever the exact figure is, the world has accused Israel of war crimes.

I bleed for the innocents of Gaza, as I bleed for the innocents of Israel. War is hell. Who knows when it will end?

As for the offspring of the asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan, I have worked alongside Israelis who care as deeply about them as I do. Our government should stop calling them infiltrators. We are better than that, no matter what the rest of the world thinks.

Whether they have passports or not, the youngsters that I teach are our children.