Report: Crime Rate Among African Migrants Much Higher

A report released Thursday claims that the crime rate among African migrants in Israel is significantly higher than for any other group living in the country. The study, by Israel Immigration Policy Center, says that the migrant crime was higher in all categories of offenses.

For example, in the “forcible assault,” there were 0.11 offenders per thousand population for all Israeli citizens, and 0.07 per thousand for non-African foreigners – compared to 0.44 offenders per thousand population among African migrants.

The Center, a non-governmental organization that develops policy papers on immigration to Israel, said that the figures were based on police data. It did not include information on murder.

Commenting on the report, Center director Yonatan Yaakovobich said that “in recent years organizations that advocate on behalf of the migrants have worked very hard to hide this information from the public. The data we have uncovered proves beyond the shadow of a doubt what the residents of South Tel Aviv and other locations have long known – that we are facing a time bomb that is likely to blow up in our faces. Our decision-makers must stop denying that we have a problem and realize that it is not going to disappear. The only solution is removing the migrants from our midst, either to their own countries or a safe alternative country that will be willing to accept them.”