Multiple Injuries Reported in Confrontation Between Asylum-Seekers and Israeli Authorities Near Eritrean Embassy

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TEL AVIV, Israel —

Civil unrest flared on Saturday in Tel Aviv as hundreds of Eritrean asylum-seekers clashed with Israeli police during a demonstration against a gathering coordinated by the Eritrean Embassy. According to Israeli law enforcement authorities, 27 officers sustained injuries during the violent exchanges. Moreover, police reported using live ammunition against at least three protesters, stating that they felt their lives were in imminent peril.

Law enforcement officers, armed in riot gear and mounted on horses, endeavored to contain the demonstrators. The protesters, in turn, managed to breach the barriers and launched various objects—including pieces of pavement, batteries, and rocks—toward the police officers.

This display of civil unrest is not isolated to Israel. Protests of a similar violent nature have emerged globally as Eritrea commemorates 30 years of independence through events celebrated by Eritrean communities in Europe and North America. Earlier this year, the Eritrean government derisively labeled anti-government protesters opposing these events as “asylum scum.”

Eritreans constitute the majority of the over 30,000 African asylum-seekers currently residing in Israel. These individuals claim to have escaped hazardous conditions and severe persecution from Eritrea—often referred to as the “North Korea of Africa”—where compulsory lifetime military service under conditions resembling slavery is prevalent.

Eritrea has been under the leadership of President Isaias Afwerki since 1993, following its independence from Ethiopia after an extended guerrilla conflict. The nation has not conducted any elections, lacks a free media landscape, and mandates exit visas for international travel. Human rights organizations and United Nations experts report that many young Eritreans are conscripted into indefinite military service.

Situated on the Horn of Africa, Eritrea maintains one of the most dismal human rights records globally. The asylum-seekers in Israel, as well as in other nations, express fear of potential death if they were to be repatriated to their home country, negating basic civil liberties, such as the right to protest.

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• Eritrea’s Human Rights Record
• Israel’s Treatment of African Asylum-Seekers
• Global Protests Against Eritrean Government
• UN Reports on Eritrea’s Military Conscription
• Eritrea’s 30th Independence Anniversary
• Civil Liberties and the Right to Protest
• Eritrean Asylum-Seekers in Israel