In recent years tens of thousands of non-Jewish African asylum seekers have arrived in Israel, the state of Jewish refugees. The migration of asylum seekers is a worldwide phenomenon. Issues of sovereignty and control of borders and society; affiliation and status; demography and security; culture and religion; and welfare and social justice have a decisive effect on how the asylum seekers are related to in Israel and elsewhere and cast a dark shadow over their future. Thus it is not surprising that the treatment of refugees has become a politically charged topic that triggers severe disputes between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

This book is the most comprehensive collection of articles on the subject of asylum seekers in Israel. Its twelve articles characterize the communities of the asylum seekers in Israel and describe critically and comparatively the changing policy toward them on the part of the authorities and civil society. The articles have been written by researchers in various disciplines and by individuals working in the field. The book covers topics such as Israel’s bureaucratic array for handling asylum requests, the experiences of asylum seekers in Israel and their integration in the urban space, the religious life of Christian asylum seekers, asylum and gender, the exclusion of asylum seekers by limiting their entry at the border and imprisoning them in holding facilities or detention camps, refugees from enemy countries and Palestinian refugees, and viable solutions for the refugee problem. The articles provide a foundation for study of the topic and for future research and can also serve as an aid to policy-makers and decision-makers.