Immigration officers wreck African Church in Tel Aviv
Immigration Authority (OZ) officers wrecked an African church in Tel Aviv in search of illegal migrants.
Om Monday, 21 December, the OZ unit officers broke into the Church as part of a large scale detention and deportation operation that began in July 2009 as part of the GOI agenda to deport illegal migrant workers.
Estimates presented by the MOI speak of some 300,000 illegal migrants who overstayed their work visas or arrived on tourist visas.
The African church, ran by pastor George, is a well known church for over the past 2 decades in the African migrants and asylum seeking community in Israel, yet the OZ team commander Eran Kehat told reporters it is ” an apartment and not a church” he also disputed claims of his unit wrecking the church.
The church serves as prayer and gathering center and also homes some of the homeless asylum seekers upon their arrival in Tel Aviv.
Moked (hotline for migrant workers) spokesperson , Romm Levkovitz, told reporters ” the churches have always been off limits, the immigration police( operated until June 2009 - than responsibilities were transferred to the immigration authority under the MOI and the Immigration police was dissembled) instructed its officers not to conduct arrests in churches(chapter 2 in the memo attached) hospitals, schools and humanitarian NGOs., this is an outrage, a blunt violation of former obligations. The OZ unit is crossing the red lines – threatening asylum seekers, arresting children and now operating on sacred grounds”
Sources in the church confirmed that major damage was done when the officers took apart the ceiling of the church in search of hiding illegal migrants.
6 foreign citizens were detained, the MOI response describes them as Ghana citizens and adds that the church is not formally recognized by the MOI.
