African Refugees' Influx in Israel from a Socio-Political Perspective

Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM)This paper focuses on socio-political dynamics in Israel in relation to the increased flow of African refugees and asylum seekers. The main argument presented here is that there is an inherent tension between the ethnocentric ideologies and the questions of territorial control that define Israel, and the pressure exerted by NGOs and civil society in relation to the ongoing influx of African asylum seekers and refugees. The theoretical insight that emerges is that the arrival of "foreigners" in Israel challenges Israeli identity politics and attitudes towards the "Other", whilst simultaneously revealing complexity in Israel's ethno-national identity and collective history