African migrants reel as Israeli law cuts into their salaries

Imagine being a migrant, legally working within a country and getting taxed on your income, being a productive member of the society and then learn that a Deposit Law has gone into effect. What is the Deposit Law?

In Israel, the new law allows the State to withhold an extra 20% of your paycheck/salary, that can only be returned if you leave the country.

I'll repeat that so it can sink in how despicable this practice is -- you make money legally for your labor, the country legally taxes you and then takes an extra 20% and puts it into a fund, and you can only get your money back if you leave the country for good.

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

African migrants in Israel have been detained, threatened with deportation and faced hostility from lawmakers and residents. Since last year, they face another burden: a de facto 20 percent salary cut that has driven them further into poverty.

Israel’s roughly 35,000 African migrants and the groups that support them say the recent law — in which Israel withholds the money from their paychecks every month and returns it only if they leave the country — is yet another attempt by an anti-migrant government to force them out.

“I feel that they started the ‘deposit law’ to make our life miserable,” said Salamwit Willedo, a migrant from Eritrea who came to Israel in 2010. “We suffer for eight years here. If I had a country, why am I living here?”

Times of Israel . Original AP Article

What do you folks think? Some of these people have been permanent residents and legal workers for over a decade, some longer; is it alright to create laws that specifically target ethnicity or religion? Our Constitution would not allow this but the people of Israel are not as lucky as we are.

Does it remind you of another time?

a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

Nice hyperbole.

a reply to: Kharron

And wait for the comments we should do that....

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

Nice hyperbole.

Why? If such practices are allowed to flourish, camps are only 5 to 10 years away. That to me is not that far.

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

Nice hyperbole.

Yea, it's certainly not gassing people... That was also poor choice of words considering the people we are talking about. I don't agree with it as I'm sure they're already making low wages... But that was a bit much.

originally posted by: Kharron

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

Nice hyperbole.

Why? If such practices are allowed to flourish, camps are only 5 to 10 years away. That to me is not that far.

You're saying it like it's inevitable, there's no reason to assume that.

Did they say that they're on temperary visas? If so at least it will be money to go back with, and pay for travel.

a reply to: Kharron

Don't live and work in Israel, problem solved
Go to the US instead

originally posted by: Kharron
Imagine being a migrant, legally working within a country and getting taxed on your income, being a productive member of the society and then learn that a Deposit Law has gone into effect.

Did they initially arrive legally (i.e. de facto "invited")?

If not you might reword it like this:

originally posted by: Kharron (hypothetically paraphrasing)
Imagine being an illegal immigrant, being more or less tolerated working within a nation for some period of time, and then the host nation (which you are effectively a parasite within) puts its foot down and start giving you the boot.

a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

This is, by far, the dumbest thing posted on ATS today.

Unbelievable.

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Kharron

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

Nice hyperbole.

Why? If such practices are allowed to flourish, camps are only 5 to 10 years away. That to me is not that far.

You're saying it like it's inevitable, there's no reason to assume that.

Did they say that they're on temperary visas? If so at least it will be money to go back with, and pay for travel.

Some of these people have no country to go to. The country is either still engaged in war and genocide or it has been dissolved or taken over by another. They have no place to go and have no country of their own; they have become a part of Israel and work and mind their own business.

They are a literal parallel of Jews minding their own business and being productive in pre-WW2 Germany and then being singled out based on ethnicity and religion. It is the same scenario but the oppressor, as history often does, is now reversed.

It's not inevitable, everything can be stopped in time, but if left unchecked they're on that path.

originally posted by: Kharron

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Kharron

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

Nice hyperbole.

Why? If such practices are allowed to flourish, camps are only 5 to 10 years away. That to me is not that far.

You're saying it like it's inevitable, there's no reason to assume that.

Did they say that they're on temperary visas? If so at least it will be money to go back with, and pay for travel.

Some of these people have no country to go to. The country is either still engaged in war and genocide or it has been dissolved or taken over by another. They have no place to go and have no country of their own; they have become a part of Israel and work and mind their own business.

They are a literal parallel of Jews minding their own business and being productive in pre-WW2 Germany and then being singled out based on ethnicity and religion. It is the same scenario but the oppressor, as history often does, is now reversed.

It's not inevitable, everything can be stopped in time, but if left unchecked they're on that path.

Yet you came to my country as a refugee and sit there on your high horse and bash my country? No thanks! Go back where you came from! We want people who want to live here not destroy our country to make it like the snip hole they left.

Bad enough you show your hatred for a country that opened it's doors and took you in, but to get on your computer and bash other countries is BS!

What country do I have to move to if I allow people like you to destroy it?

I guess they dont want the people that came through the porous border with egypt to stay.

in which Israel withholds the money from their paychecks every month and returns it only if they leave the country

We ought to try that for illegal immigrants.

a reply to: Kharron

I guess Im engaging in "what about" but what about all the farmers being murdered in S Africa, Namibia etc...? why dont you ever beat their drum? its always USA this and Israel that...

Frankly, the rest of the world learned freedom from right here.

Would it suck to have a tax imposed on income...sure, it sucks here too

originally posted by: BlueJacket
a reply to: Kharron

I guess Im engaging in "what about" but what about all the farmers being murdered in S Africa, Namibia etc...? why dont you ever beat their drum? its always USA this and Israel that...

Frankly, the rest of the world learned freedom from right here.

Would it suck to have a tax imposed on income...sure, it sucks here too

Guess who is taking in those white South African farmers since the UN put pressure on the EU and Australia for thinking about taking them in?

RUSSIA!!!

originally posted by: projectvxn
a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

This is, by far, the dumbest thing posted on ATS today.

Unbelievable.

Most probably for the entire time that ATS has existed.
What , about 16 years ?

a reply to: seeker1963

wow, I had no idea, good for them.

originally posted by: BlueJacket
a reply to: seeker1963

wow, I had no idea, good for them.

Yea, I saw it the other day. I thought Australia was going to take them, but the UN put their foot down and Australia backed out.

Thank God Russia stepped up aye?

Ok . The African migrants are there temporarily . The Israelis agreed under pressure from the UN to take some into Israel for a time.
Not permanently .
If they wanted to forcibly remove them , they would
That is not the way of Israel though
Putting pressure on them to leave on their own.

originally posted by: seeker1963

originally posted by: Kharron

originally posted by: CriticalStinker

originally posted by: Kharron

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Kharron

I guess it's better than gassing people. Not that far from it, though, and I would say definitely on the same path.

Nice hyperbole.

Why? If such practices are allowed to flourish, camps are only 5 to 10 years away. That to me is not that far.

You're saying it like it's inevitable, there's no reason to assume that.

Did they say that they're on temperary visas? If so at least it will be money to go back with, and pay for travel.

Some of these people have no country to go to. The country is either still engaged in war and genocide or it has been dissolved or taken over by another. They have no place to go and have no country of their own; they have become a part of Israel and work and mind their own business.

They are a literal parallel of Jews minding their own business and being productive in pre-WW2 Germany and then being singled out based on ethnicity and religion. It is the same scenario but the oppressor, as history often does, is now reversed.

It's not inevitable, everything can be stopped in time, but if left unchecked they're on that path.

Yet you came to my country as a refugee and sit there on your high horse and bash my country? No thanks! Go back where you came from! We want people who want to live here not destroy our country to make it like the snip hole they left.

Bad enough you show your hatred for a country that opened it's doors and took you in, but to get on your computer and bash other countries is BS!

What country do I have to move to if I allow people like you to destroy it?

Wait a minute, you're Israeli?

And who is bashing any country? It clearly says these people are legally working and being productive members -- they are just trying to live. Their LEGAL salaries are being extra taxed, based on ethnicity. Sink in yet?

You wanna take the hatred veil off for long enough to read the article? *shakes head*