Deportation of African Hebrew Israelites temporarily denied

• Published date: 11 October 2021
• Author: JERUSALEM POST STAFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The Dimona-based community obtained an injunction, temporarily restraining the State of Israel from deporting the Israelites, who are considered illegal aliens.

They first arrived in the Jewish State, mostly from Chicago, in 1969, requesting citizenship under the Law of Return. However, the Israeli government ruled in 1973 they did not qualify for citizenship as they could not prove Jewish descent.

On Sunday, Israel Police immigration officers entered the community's Dimona neighborhood for the first time in pursuit of the illegal aliens, according to Army Radio.

"We live in existential fear," Yair Israel, member of the Hebrew Israelite community, told Army Radio...