S. Tel Aviv Tense But Calm After Violence

By JTA May 25, 2012

South Tel Aviv remained calm but tense Friday after recent violence aimed at African immigrants.

Law enforcement officials deployed a large force of border police in the Hatikvah neighborhood, regular police and volunteers to better secure the area, which has seen a spike in friction between African migrants and local residents, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Yochanan Danino and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch had agreed to add approximately 40 police to the area to try to calm the streets.

Wednesday night, a group of rampaging Israelis assaulted migrants and looted storefronts belonging to Africans. Rioters smashed the windshield of a car carrying three migrants as well as other car windows. The rioters also set trash bins on fire and threw firecrackers at police.

The next night, a group of locals protested outside the city’s Likud headquarters, demanding that the government put forward clear policies to solve the migrant issue, including refraining from what they labeled as incitement against the migrants.

Also, an 18-year-old resident of Tel Aviv was arrested Friday morning on suspicion of belonging to a gang that targeted African migrants for physical assault.

The police alert is expected to last through Shavuot, which ends in Israel on Sunday evening.

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