Protests Erupt at the Eritrean Embassy in Israel

Written by Jillian Shaw | September 10, 2023

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TEL AVIV, Israel — At least 114 people were wounded last weekend after protests broke out at an Eritrean Embassy event hosted in Tel Aviv. The event, which intended to celebrate the East African nation’s independence, attracted both those in favor of the current Eritrean regime and those in opposition. The demonstration quickly turned very violent, with protestors breaking windows and throwing debris, to which the Israeli police began using tear gas and rubber bullets to contain the crowd. Of those injured, at least 11 suffered gunshot wounds and at least 30 were members of the Israeli police force.

Eritrea has been an independent nation since 1993 when it won its independence from Ethiopia. Eritrea has since been led by President Isaias Afwerki and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front party, with no elections or change in power. The small nation also has one of the worst human rights records, notably including lifetime compulsory military service and forced labor, which has caused many asylum seekers to leave the country. Many activist organizations recognize Eritrea as the “North Korea of Africa” and Afwerki’s reign as a dictatorship.

In response to the violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against the demonstrations and demanded the deportation of all unauthorized immigrants from Israel, describing the riots as a “red line” that had been crossed. A proposed bill is now in the works, sponsored by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, that would override Israel’s basic-law on human dignity and liberty to allow for this mass deportation. With ongoing concerns surrounding Netanyahu’s plans for reshaping the Israeli judicial system, the suggested bill is only becoming further divisive amongst the Israeli people. 

Approximately 18,000 Eritrean refugees currently live in Israel, where they are legally classified as “infiltrators”, and have no path to asylum or citizenship. Less refugees have entered Israel following 2013, when a fence was erected along the border between Israel and Egypt, blocking out many refugees from Africa. Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged this fence on X — formally known as Twitter, — writing that if it were not built, unauthorized refugees would have “destroyed [the] country.”

Disputes surrounding Eritrea are tormenting many other world nations, as there have been violent demonstrations in European and North American nations as well, with Canada recently canceling a planned Eritrean festival in Toronto. Eritrea’s Minister of Information Yemane G. Meskel recently took to X to blame these recent acts of violence specifically on Eritrean refugees. The Minister wrote that “Complicity in attempts to disrupt decades-old Eritrean Festivals using foreign thugs reflects abject failure of asylum scum.”