Government officials such as Dr. Gilad Natan, from the Knesset Research and Information Center, consistently misrepresented the true reality of crime perpetrated by the migrant population.
According to Eitan, official surveys comparing migrant crime to crime in the population at large, awarded similar statistical weight to rape or murder committed by migrants, to tax evasion and even verbal assault committed in all of Israel. The result was seriously skewed, showing that the crime rate in the migrant community was lower than that in the society at large.
Eitan, using the same rating system used by the police, showed murders to be 9 times higher in the migrant population, and sex crimes 3.5 times higher. Which is what one should expect from a population of largely young males, living far below the poverty line. What did anyone expect?
And these were only the major crimes. In addition, the streets of the poor neighborhoods of south Tel Aviv became the outdoor camping grounds and the open air lavatories for tens of thousands of homeless Africans.
It’s amazing to me that the really loud protests of local residents against this abuse began a full decade after the problem had started. These people are almost angels for having shown so much patience.
Unfortunately, as often happens in the West, this catastrophic social phenomenon, neglected for such a long time by the people who should have known better, was skillfully hijacked by leftist NGOs, many with support from European countries, to be turned from an issue of law enforcement to a fight for the “refugee” rights.
Israel’s official response, typically, was too little, too late and too stupid. They switched from a purgatory for both Israeli residents of south Tel Aviv and their uninvited African guests, to a new facility, Holot (the name means Sands – but without the gambling), this time a true purgatory, half way between real life and deportation, in the middle of the desert.
It’s no wonder they’re angry, I would be angry, too. But with massive help from nice Israelis, these young men may yet manage to secure for themselves a place in Israel, then bring over their relatives—all because Israel’s government is incapable of taking one decisive, firm measure against migrants overstaying their welcome the way Saudi Arabia is doing as we speak.