Saturday night was our Live Stream.  Thank you to all who joined us.  At the beginning of the Live Stream, Baruch shared about the plight of the Eritrean refugees here in Israel.  He mentioned that we would give more information concerning them and how you can help.

According to the Israeli government’s statistics, at the start of 2017 there were 40,274 African refugees in Israel, Out of this number, 29,014 are Eritreans.

The Eritreans here in Israel are Christians (98%).  They fled Eritrea because they have been forced into indefinite military service which is like slavery, there is no religious freedom, and those who dissent are jailed and tortured or killed.

They have come to Israel because Christian refugees are not safe in Muslim countries.  Israel is the closest friend to the Christian people.

There are undeniably problems with the treatment of Eritreans refugees in Israel.  Almost all are given asylum seekers visas.  They must be renewed every 2 weeks to 2 months in one particular office.  They are taxed at a high rate and yet do not receive basic benefits.  This is a tactic used to get them to leave the country voluntarily.

Unfortunately, those who do voluntarily leave find themselves in very bad conditions when they arrive in other countries such as Uganda and Rwanda.

There are 7,000 Eritrean refugee women in Israel.  About 3,000 of them experienced sexual assault and torture in the Sinai desert.  All Eritrean women in Israel lack access to basic public services, including healthcare and welfare.

If you are interested in helping out the women’s center with a tax-deductible gift, please go to their website:   www.eritreanwomenscenter.org.  Follow their directions carefully.  It is a very worthy cause.