Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised on Thursday that his government would address the issue of African migrants in Israel, one day after a protest against them by residents of south Tel Aviv turned violent.

“The infiltrator problem must be solved, and we will solve it,” Netanyahu said on Thursday afternoon, speaking at an event in Tel Aviv.

He also refered to the construction of a fence on the Egypt-Israel border, saying, “We will complete construction of the fence within two months, and soon we will begin sending infiltrators back to their countries of origin.”

The prime minister also condemned the actions of demonstrators and Knesset members on Wednesday, when demonstrators attacked African migrants in South Tel Aviv.

“I want to make it clear that there is no place for the statements and actions that we witnessed yesterday. I say these things to the public figures and to the residents of south Tel Aviv, whose pain I understand,” he said.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.

This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions. 

We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.

As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday! 

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a gift and our board will match it.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$129 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT