Israel’s African Migrant Crisis Guest Speakers

Guest Speakers: Oded Oron & Yikealo Beyene

When the Israeli government planned to deport 40,000 African migrants, El Al pilots said they would refuse to fly them out of the country. A compromise was reached to allow 16,000 migrants to find temporary shelter in Israel. But, Prime Minister Netanyahu cancelled the plan hours later in response to public pressure. What is the right thing to do? Join us to hear two experts.

Yikealo Beyene, originally from Eritrea, was a refugee in Israel for eight years. He pursued an advanced degree in Israel despite enormous legal and financial obstacles. During and after his studies, he was active in the asylum seeker and refugee community.

Oded Oron is a Tel Aviv born journalist currently studying at the University of Washington. His research focuses on the mobilization of irregular migrants such as guest workers, undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. His dissertation compares African migrants mobilizing in Israel with migrant movements in WA state.