Israel Lawmakers Spar Over African Refugees

By Haaretz May 21, 2012

Knesset members engaged in a stormy debate on Monday, following comments by Interior Minister Eli Yishai that Israel should not let African asylum seekers work and that the United Nations is responsible for what happens in Eritrea and Sudan.

MK Danny Danon (Likud) and the committee’s chairman, Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) confronted one another on the matter. “They are all infiltrators,” said Danon. “We must drive them all out.”

To that, Horowitz replied, “You are blabbermouths who shoot from the hips. I am not part of the coalition; you are. Go tell your interior minister that he hasn’t done anything for years and now he’s making declarations like the last of the blabbermouths. Turn to your defense minister and prime minister. We need a responsible policy here and not shooting from the hips.”

At the same meeting, a representative of Israel Police told Knesset members that in order to reduce crime among asylum seekers they need to be incorporated into the workforce.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

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