Eilat, Israel's southern port on the border with Egypt, finds itself flooded with a growing population of illegal immigrant workers who infiltrated from Africa through the Sinai desert.
The Justice Department has decided not to take action against the infiltrators, and a planned border obstacle is still just a dream.
Eilat's mayor, Meir Yitzchak HaLevy, protested the situation in a news conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday. In addition, he recorded a mock campaign calling on employers to hire illegal immigrants.
"Every month, more than 1,000 new infiltrators enter Israel throught the border with Egypt," he says in the video, against a fast-beat musical backdrop. "Thousands of new working hands! There are no fines, no need for a work permit, and the Ministry of Justice says it's OK." He sums up enthusiastically: "African infiltrators – the solution for working hands!"
One enthusiastic supporter of the border barrier is MK Yaakov Katz (National Union), who heads the Knesset's Committee on Foreign Workers. When accused of possible racism, Katz explained: “Israel, like every other sovereign state, has an obligation to ensure that it remains that way. If there is a fear that Israel will become Eritrea or Sudan, and that the Jews might have to return to Uganda, then this takes precedence over all other considerations."
"There are some extreme leftist groups that would like to see Israel lose its Jewish character and become a ‘state of all its citizens.’ They want to counter the growth of the religious and hareidi sectors by bringing in Eritreans. But we want Tel Aviv to be a Jewish city, and the same with Eilat. If there are genuine refugees that have to be helped, this can be done in a measured manner. But Israel must remain Jewish.”