Israeli troops operating in the Gaza Strip, Sept. 8, 2024. (Credit: Israeli Army/AFP)
The Israeli military is offering African asylum seekers assistance in accessing permanent status in Israel in exchange for their contribution to the war in Gaza, according to a report from the Israeli daily Haaretz.
In Israel, nearly 30,000 Africans have applied for asylum, including about 3,500 Sudanese who are granted only temporary status while their cases are being processed. With three asylum seekers killed in Israel during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and some subsequently expressing interest in serving in the Israeli army, military officials saw this as an opportunity.
A person identified as A. by the left-wing newspaper described the recruitment process he underwent, which ultimately ended in him rejecting the offer.
Arriving in Israel at the age of 16, the man has temporary status that must be renewed regularly with the Interior Ministry with no guarantee of ever obtaining permanent status.
Like other foreigners who saw the army as the best way to integrate into Israeli society, A. considered enlisting in the past. In the early months of the war, he received a phone call asking him to report immediately to a security facility without giving any explanation.
There, he faced a man who said he was responsible for recruiting asylum seekers for the army, looking for “special people” in a “life-or-death war for Israel.”
An ethical problem quickly hushed up
After several similar meetings over the course of two weeks, A. eventually refused to enlist. Later, he encountered the same security officer again, but this time in a public. The officer gave him NIS 1,000 (about $270) to compensate for the time he lost during their meetings.
The man tried again to convince him to join the army, where he would receive two weeks of training with other asylum seekers, promising him a salary similar to the one he currently receives. Still skeptical, A. asked what he will get in return. The security officer then replied, “Papers from the State of Israel.”
He began to doubt himself when he considered the short training period, given that he had never held a weapon in his life. This officer's appeals were ineffective, but he left A. with the implication he hadn't fully given up.
Speaking to the newspaper on condition of anonymity, defense officials said the project was well organized and supervised by the military establishment's legal advisers. Some, however, see an ethical problem in this exploitation of a vulnerable situation, given that Israel refuses to adjudicate many asylum applications in order to minimize acceptance figures in public.
"This is a very problematic issue," one source told the newspaper, with other officials saying that dissenting voices had been silenced.
While some requests for official status have been submitted, no asylum seekers have received their papers, despite the fact that military operations using their services have been reported in the media.
Haaretz was not authorized to reveal how the Israeli army deploys asylum seekers to its theaters of activity. The daily also said it learned that the Interior Ministry is exploring the possibility of enlisting children of asylum seekers studying in Israel, knowing that the government has already authorized the sons and daughters of migrant workers to serve in the army in exchange for status for their immediate family members.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
