Israel Gives Citizenship Towards Darfur Refugees

With all of the chaos raging in Darfur, Prime Minister Olmert has decided to grant 500 refugees the privilege of being Israeli citizens.

(Israel National News) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced Sunday that he has ordered 500 Darfur refugees be given Israeli citizenship and absorption assistance.

Olmert added, however, that other African refugees, who continue to attempt to enter Israel from Egypt, will be turned away. Fifty such Africans were transported back to Egypt Saturday night.

This is great news for those suffering from the tragedy that is happening in that region of the world, although hopefully Olmert can display the same amount of grace to the Jews in Ethiopia as he has to these refugees.

Sudanese Refugee Enjoying Life In Israel

While the world debates how to intervene in the situation in Darfur, it looks as if Muslim refugees have found an unusual sanctuary in an unlikely nation--Israel.

(Baltimore Sun) Five years after he fled his Darfur village, and after jail spells in three countries, Ibrahim has found refuge in an unlikely place: a kibbutz in Israel.

The young Muslim is one of about 440 Sudanese refugees working in Israeli hotels and on farms while the government seeks to place them in a third country. [...]

Ibrahim said he feels isolated, because he speaks only Arabic and can't communicate with his kibbutz employers. But he does feel safe.

"Israel is nice," he said. "No one will hit you in the street or yell at you. I had to come all this way before I could find someone to treat me this way."

Despite the fact that Ibrahim official comes from what Israel regards as an "enemy nation," the Israeli government has extended hospitality towards refugees like Ibrahim, as they hash out details on where his future home will be.

Israel is currently attempting to find ways to relocate these people abroad (in Europe of all places) although the Sudanese refugees may be better off remaining in the Jewish state--at least until things calm down in Africa.