DAVID SHEEN reports on anti-African racism in Israel
Since 2010, David Sheen has been carefully chronicling the racist attacks against non-Jewish African asylum-seekers in Israel. In 2012, the African Refugee Development Center asked Sheen to author on their behalf a report to the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). After receiving the report in text and video form, the UN committee urged the Israeli government to prevent racist attacks against Africans in Israel. The Israeli government ignored the UN's call, and the following month, Israelis firebombed a kindergarten for African children in Tel Aviv, igniting a wave of violence against non-Jewish African people in Israel that is still ongoing. Below are links to Sheen's UN report, published articles about the persecution of Africans in Israel, footage from a decade of anti-African rallies, and extended one-on-one interviews with key players in the unfolding drama.
May 2018 Black lives don't matter in Israel
In 2013, African refugees could be kidnapped off the streets of Tel Aviv and whisked out of the country to be tortured for ransom
March 2018 Black lives do not matter in Israel
Netanyahu calls African refugees "much worse" than terrorists, and Chief Rabbi Yosef calls black people "monkeys" and the Hebrew N-word
March 2018 The Emmett Till Effect in Israel
As Israel's ramps up its efforts to expel tens of thousands of African refugees, two Israeli teens evade murder charges for lynching one of them
February 2018
The Unbearable Lightness of the Egyptian Sinai (3/3)
Two men from Tel Aviv meet in an Egyptian jail cell and suffer very different fates, because one is Jewish and the other black (Part 3 of 3)
January 2018 Israel set to win its war on African refugees
2017's top ten list of the Israeli officials most responsible for the persecution of non-Jewish African asylum-seekers - and why
December 2015 The ethnic cleansing of Africans in Israel
2015's top ten list of the Israeli officials most responsible for the persecution of non-Jewish African asylum-seekers - and why
October 2015 Operation African Wild Ass
Expose of a long-forgotten Israeli Air Force mission that sheds new light on Israel's treatment of Ethiopian Jews
April 2014 Israel's War on African Refugees
On the 2-year anniversary of the firebombing of an African nursery in Tel Aviv, I release my new 72-minute documentary
January 2014 African Asylum-Seekers Go on Strike in Israel
A recap of the week-long #StrikeForFreedom by tens of thousands of African asylum-seekers in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and across Israel
December 2013 Africans Demand Their Freedom In Israel
A recap of the first week of what may become the first real black civil rights struggle in Israel, led by African asylum-seekers
November 2013 Resistance to Reporting in Israel
My reflections on the hostile and sometimes violent reactions that I receive when I report on anti-African racism in Israel
October 2013 Smoking While Black, Having a Cookout While Black
African refugees are so demonized in Israel that an armed soldier says he fears for his life when he sees a black man smoking a cigarette
September 2013 For Refugees, Even Ethiopians Are Wolves
An African fighting for refugee rights bemoans the lack of solidarity between Jewish and non-Jewish Africans in Israel
September 2013 Israel's True Colors
An interview with artist Zoya Cherkassky about mixed-race and mixed-religion families and immigration to the State of Israel
July 2013 When Racism Isn't A Cause For Shame
A single 24-hour period of Israeli political and religious leaders making racist statements demonstrates their confidence
April 2013 Liberal Zionism at 65: Fantasy and reality
A mental exercise imagining what Israel could look like if it was really a liberal democracy - and comparing that vision to the grim reality
March 2013 Beware of defending the lesser of 2 evils
A response to Sudanese anti-slavery activist Simon Deng, who argues that Israel's racist treatment of non-Jewish people should be ignored
December 2012 The dirty dozen: Israel's racist ringleaders
A top twelve list of the Israeli officials most responsible for the persecution of non-Jewish African asylum-seekers - and why
November 2012 Israel Builds Camps To Round Africans Into
Comprehensive overview of Israel's persecution of non-Jewish African asylum-seekers between August and October 2012
September 2012 Israel's Race to the Top
Analysis of the root causes of anti-African racism in Israeli society and the power of the anti-miscegenation lobby
July 2012 After the Pogrom, Israel's War On Africans
After full scale anti-African race riots in Tel Aviv, Israel moves quickly to deport as many African asylum-seekers as possible.
May 2012 Timeline: AfriKristallnacht
My Twitter timeline of live-tweeting from May 22, the night before the anti-African pogrom in Tel Aviv, to May 29, a week after the pogrom
April 2012 Proto-Pogrom Against Africans in Israel
A summary of what happened in the 3 months between the Report to the United Nations and the firebomb attacks in April 2012
January 2012 Anti-Racism & Jewish Privilege In Israel
Live-tweets from a planning meeting of an "anti-racism rally" reveal that most Israelis won't oppose racism against non-Jews
April 2011 Recalling their show of strength
25 years after a pivotal hand-off, African Israelites recall the Israeli government's efforts to expel them from the country
March 2011 Israelis who would deport refugee children
Do politicians convince the population to be racist? Or are they just following the will of the people who are racist already?
January 2012 Africans in Israel
3-minute trailer for the hour-long documentary video "Racism Report: Africans in Israel" prepared for the United Nations
January 2012 Racism Report: Africans in Israel
Report for the African Refugee Development Center (ARDC) to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
October 2013 Israel's New Racism
Made with Max Blumenthal for The Nation, an 11-minute overview of the treatment of African refugees by Israel's government & its citizens
April 2014 Israel's War on Africans
72-minute slideshow given at colleges and communities across the United States and Canada about Israel's treatment of Africans
October 2014 On Israeli racism
15-minute slideshow given at a conference at Harvard University about relations between Blacks, Jews and Black Jews
November 2014 Israel's War on Africans 2
14-minute slideshow, part of a presentation given at US & Canadian colleges, but focusing only on Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers
April 2015 Israel's War on Africans 3
24-minute slideshow, part of a presentation given at US & Canadian colleges, but focusing only on Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers
October 2015 Zionism's Anti-African Front
23-minute slideshow given at the University of London's School of Oriental & African Studies on Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers
October 2015 Operation African Wild Ass
Expose of a long-forgotten Israeli Air Force mission that sheds new light on Israel's treatment of Ethiopian Jews
November 2015 Israel's War on Africans 4
14-minute slideshow, part of a presentation given at US & Canadian colleges, but focusing only on Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers
November 2015 Israeli standards for accepting refugees
6-minute slideshow comparing the experiences of my own grandparents with that of African refugees in Israel today
March 2017 Israel's War on Africans 5
15-minute slideshow, part of a presentation given at the University of Arizona, but focusing only on Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers
October 2017 Netanyahu's War on Africans
125-minute slideshow given in Stockholm on Israel's treatment of black people in general, and asylum-seekers specifically
November 2017 Israel's War on Africans 6
3-minute slideshow, part of a presentation given at the Spelman College, focusing on Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers
January 2018 Do #BlackLivesMatter in Israel?
8-minute slideshow about Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers, narrated by members of the various black communities in the country
January 2018 Acaso las vidas negras importan en Israel?
8-minute slideshow about Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers, narrated by members of the various black communities in the country [SPANISH]
December 2018 Israel's War on Africans 7
6-minute slideshow, part of a presentation given at De Balie in Amsterdam, focusing on Israel's treatment of asylum-seekers
March 2019 Judea-Africa-America
comprehensive 111-minute slideshow about the racial relationship history between Blacks, Jews and Black Jews
March 2019 Slavery & Jewry
21-minute segment from the lecture Judea-Africa-America about Jewish interaction with the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
March 2019 African Hebrews
15-minute segment from the lecture Judea-Africa-America about the African Hebrew Israelites of Dimona
March 2019 African Jews
14-minute segment from the lecture Judea-Africa-America about Jewish Ethiopian emigres
March 2019 African Refugees
45-minute segment from the lecture Judea-Africa-America about African asylum-seekers
March 2019 The story of Ablel Tsegay
What happened after the Israeli government built a high-tech fence on the country's border with the African continent?
March 2019 Pogromists in the Israeli Parliament
Israel's ruling party includes lawmakers who have led racist rallies on the streets of Tel Aviv that turned into violent mobs
January 26, 2017 Refugees protesting against deportation
African refugees protest outside Israel's Supreme Court and march to its parliament to protest their treatment by the government
August 25, 2015 Arad: Off-Limits to Africans
Residents of the southern city of Arad comment on their mayor's decision to ban African refugees from entering town
July 31, 2015 Hyde Park Lewinsky
Community forum for African refugees & veteran residents of South Tel Aviv is protested by Israelis demanding that all refugees be expelled
May 24, 2015 African Solidarity at Holot
African Hebrew Israelites & African Bedouin Palestinians make a solidarity visit to African asylum-seekers held by Israel in a desert detention center
January 4, 2015 Protest Against Racist Police Brutality in Israel
Family & friends of a Jewish African who died mysteriously after being abused by police march to protest racist police brutality in Israel
October 5, 2014 Israelis: 'Ni&&ers go home!'
After Israel's High Court struck down anti-African legislation for a 2nd time, citizens march through south Tel Aviv calling for Africans to be expelled
June 27, 2014 African Refugees Make A Run For The Border
African asylum-seekers march out of a desert detention center and try to cross into United Nations territory but are rebuffed by Israeli forces
January 22, 2014 Solidarity with African Asylum-Seekers
Photo slideshow from local African asylum-seekers protests & over a dozen international solidarity protests held on the same day
January 22, 2014 African Refugee March To Canadian Embassy
As Canada's Prime Minister visits Israel, Africans rally at the its Tel Aviv embassy, asking for help to secure their refugee rights
January 15, 2014 African Women & Children #MarchForFreedom
Thousands of African women and children march through Tel Aviv to the UN offices and the American Embassy, demanding refugee rights
January 8, 2014 #StrikeForFreedom: Day 4
On Day Four of their #StrikeForFreedom, ten thousand African asylum-seekers rally outside the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, in Jeruaslem
January 7, 2014 #StrikeForFreedom: Day 3
On Day Three of their #StrikeForFreedom, representatives of the African asylum-seeker community hold a press conference in Tel Aviv
January 6, 2014 #StrikeForFreedom: Day 2
On Day Two of their #StrikeForFreedom, tens of thousands of African asylum-seekers rally outside the American Embassy in Tel Aviv
January 5, 2014 #StrikeForFreedom: Day 1
On Day One of their #StrikeForFreedom, tens of thousands of African asylum-seekers rally outside Tel Aviv City Hall (Rabin Square)
December 28, 2013 Silent #MarchForFreedom
After Israel begins to round African asylum-seekers off the streets of Tel Aviv and into jail, the community holds a "silent" march to City Hall
December 21, 2013 Freedom! Africans in Israel demand it
After the refugees from the March For Freedom were all taken back to jail, thousands of Africans run through the streets of Tel Aviv, demanding freedom
December 17, 2013 Refugee March For Freedom
African asylum-seekers march for days to reach Jerusalem and demand refugee rights in front of the Prime Minister's Office
October 8, 2013 Africans Out Of Tel Aviv... & Dimona
Speaker includes African Americans who came to Israel in the 1970's among those he wants the government to flush out of Israeli cities
September 17, 2013 Israelis Angry At Court Ruling On Africans
After Israel's High Court struck down anti-African legislation, residents of south Tel Aviv block an intersection to vent their anger at the decision
December 31, 2012 In with the New Year, Out with the Africans
After a New Year's Eve anti-African rally, right-wing activists march through Tel Aviv humiliating any African person they come across
December 19, 2012 Israelis Want Africans Out
Veteran Israelis protest the setting up of winter tents in a south Tel Aviv park for homeless people, mainly African asylum-seekers
December 10, 2012 Anti-African Chanukah Rally #2
Knesset Members hold a holiday candle-lighting ceremony / political rally / kick-out-the-Africans protest in south Tel Aviv
October 28, 2012 Israelis vs. Africans
Jewish Israelis say reducing the rate of Africans entering the country is not enough and demand the expulsion of all asylum-seekers
October 18, 2012 Eritreans Protest Israeli Persecution
Eritrean asylum-seekers protest against the government's plan to round them up into an internment camp imminently
October 14, 2012 Sudanese Protest Israeli Persecution
Sudanese asylum-seekers protest against the government's plan to round them up into an internment camp imminently
July 28, 2012 Lesson of the Holocaust: Grant Asylum
Descendants of Holocaust survivors protest the Israeli government's persecution of non-Jewish African asylum-seekers
July 28, 2012 Holocaust Survivor & African Refugees
A Holocaust survivor describes his horror upon learning of the living conditions of African asylum-seekers in Israel
May 30, 2012 Still African - Jewish or Not
Tel Aviv rally demanding the expulsion of all non-Jewish African people verbally and physically attacks an Ethiopian Jewish Israeli man
May 23, 2012 Unsafe for Africans in Israel
The effects of an anti-African race riot in Tel Aviv are still felt a week after the fact
May 22, 2012 Rape Culture in Israel
Anti-African demonstrators call for people who do not agree with them to be raped, as a Member of Knesset looks on and smiles
May 22, 2012 Not Racist? May You Be Raped!
A lone Israeli woman who does not agree with a crowd who wants to deport all non-Jewish African asylum-seekers is shouted down with ferocity
March 17, 2012 Sudanese Protest Israel Deportation
The South Sudanese community holds a protest in Tel Aviv, pleading that they be allowed to stay in Israel until their situation improves
January 10, 2011 Protest: Israel criminalizes refugees
Israelis block vehicular traffic outside Tel Aviv City Hall after the government passes a law criminalizing refugees.
December 11, 2011 Anti-African Rally in Tel Aviv
White Jewish Israelis march through a mainly African area of Tel Aviv, demanding their immediate deportation.
September 1, 2011 Racial segregation in Israeli schools
Ethiopian-Israelis & Russian-Israelis protest racial segregation in state-sponsored schools in Petach Tikvah.
April 6, 2011 South Tel Aviv is on fire
White Jewish Israelis march through a mainly African area of Tel Aviv, demanding their immediate deportation.
March 4, 2011 Feelings for Foreigners
Demonstration against the deportation of children of foreign workers elicits a counter-protest calling for expulsion of non-Jews.
1 - From Darfur to Israel
Asylum-seeker Jacob Berry explains how he escaped persecution in Sudan and Egypt and made it to Israel
2 - From Darfur to Israel
Asylum-seeker Jacob Berry discusses the racial discrimination he is exposed to in Israel
3 - From Darfur to Israel
Asylum-seeker Jacob Berry describes how the African community can respond to hostile actions by Israel
What Eritrea Has Become
Eritrean activist Meron Estefanos on how Eritrea has become a dictatorship, causing many of its best and brightest to flee the country
1 - You'd Think Because It Happened To Them
Eritrean activist Meron Estefanos on how Eritreans suffer heinous tortures in Egypt and yet are given no refugee rights when they reach Israel
2 - You'd Think Because It Happened To Them
Eritrean activist Meron Estefanos on her disappointment upon learning the Israeli government incites racism against African asylum-seekers
You Would Think Because Of What We Went Through
Former Assaf social worker Bracha Shapiro on her shock upon learning about the treatment of African refugees by many Jewish groups in Israel
The Poor People Of Your Town Come First
Former Assaf social worker Bracha Shapiro on common arguments made by Israelis who are unsympathetic to the plight of African asylum-seekers
1 - How Israel Vilifies Africans
Community activist Dr. Rami Gudovitch explains how Israelis' attitudes towards Africans went from bad to worse
2 - How Israel Abuses Africans
Community activist Dr. Rami Gudovitch lists a litany of indignities he has witnessed Israelis visit upon Africans
3 - How Israel Expels Africans
Community activist Dr. Rami Gudovitch describes how Israel sent Africans to a place where their chances of survival are low
Jewish Obligations to African Refugees
Ido Naveh explains how he came to the conclusion that he must risk his own freedom to obtain the same freedom for African refugees in Israel
Occupy Saharonim
Ido Naveh explains how he fights for the freedom of African refugees in Israel using civil disobedience and the philosophy of non-violence
Cause of Crime in South Tel Aviv
Ido Naveh explains the true cause of crime in South Tel Aviv, often blamed on African refugees as an excuse to justify deporting them
Fighting For Refugee Rights (1)
African asylum-seeker Mutassim Ali recounts the circumstances that caused him to flee his native Darfur in Sudan and cross into Israel
Fighting For Refugee Rights (2)
African asylum-seeker Mutassim Ali recounts how he was treated after he fled his native Darfur in Sudan and crossed into Israel
Veronique, political refugee in Israel
Veronique speaks about the hardships of being a political refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Israel
Food Not Racism
Israeli activist Orly Feldheim discusses the Lewinsky soup kitchen which served the African refugee community in Tel Aviv
Our own story in the mirror
Israeli activist Orly Feldheim discusses the terrible irony of Israelis mistreating non-Jewish African refugees
Love in the time of . . .
"Average Israeli" Mai Liberkaz speaks about the harassment she and her partner endure in Israel because he is a non-Jewish African asylum-seeker
Kidnapped in Tel Aviv
An Israeli citizen corroborates the harrowing story of Ablel Tsegay, who he met in jail after getting caught in Egypt in possession of marijuana
Zahalka: Give Africans Full Rights
National Democratic Alliance (BALAD) MK Jamal Zahalka explains his position on African asylum-seekers who have entered Israel
History of South Tel Aviv
Architect and author Sharon Rotbard discusses the history of how south Tel Aviv was settled and developed
Demography of Israel
Professor Jonathan Anson of Ben Gurion University in Be'er Sheva speaks about Israel's "demographic policies" and those of other countries
Israel's Ethiopian Jewish Immigration
Social anthropologist Esther Herzog speaks about the topic of her doctorate thesis, the absorption of Ethiopian immigrants to Israel
Evolution: from racist to anti-racist
Activist Inbar Bugala recounts her origins and her political path, leading up to the recent Ethiopian-Israeli protests
Israel's crimes against Ethiopians
Part 1: Tehune Maharat, cousin of the late victim of police brutality Yosef Salamsa, lists Ethiopian-Israeli grievances against the government
Israel 2015: Ethiopian Spring
Part 2: Tehune Maharat's 1st-person account of the Ethiopian protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in April/May 2015
Israel denies its anti-blackness
Part 3: Tehune Maharat explains how she finds that most white citizens are unwilling to admit that anti-black racism even exists in Israel
Zionism after the Ethiopian protests
Part 4: Tehune Maharat on how Israel's rejection of Ethiopian protestors' demands are leading some of those protestors to reject Zionism
Sick & tired of racism in Israel
25-year-old Ester explains why she joined the Ethiopian-Israeli protests against systemic racism & police brutality
Between racism & Jewish supremacy
25-year-old Ester explains why is one of the only Ethiopian-Israelis who publicly support the African refugee struggle
Israel vs. Ethiopians
Lawyer and community activist Emmanuel Melese Hadana chronicles the history of the Ethiopian Jews and the racism they face in Israel
Seeking asylum in Israel
Lawyer and community activist Emmanuel Melese Hadana talks about the relationship between Ethiopian Jews and non-Jewish African people
Israel's N-word
African-American-Israeli Llyana explains how Israelis use the Hebrew word "Kushi" like U.S. racists use the N-word
Black bodies in Dimona
Shocking story of how African Hebrew Israelites were treated when they arrived in Israel, both in life and in death
Black faces on Israeli TV
In recent years, some black people have been chosen to publicly represent Israel. Is this a sign of racial progress or not?
The Power of Definition
African-American-Israeli Savannah Johnson explains how Israelis use the Hebrew word "Kushi" like U.S. racists use the N-word