Climate change could potentially push millions of Africans toward Israel
Climate change could potentially push millions of African migrants to Israel and the Western part of the world in coming years, according to a new article published in the academic scientific journal, Nature.
Scarce resources and low levels of preparedness in combination with frequent droughts and floods make Africa the most vulnerable continent in the world.
A severe drought in the volatile Horn of Africa over the past two years has caused about 20 million Africans, including 5 million children, to suffer from malnutrition and hunger in countries like as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Uganda. The pressure on Africa’s insufficient resources is expected to increase dramatically as the continent’s rapidly growing population is projected to reach two billion by 2050.
Dr. Assaf Tzachor, academic director of the Abirim Program for Sustainability and Climate at Reichman University near Tel Aviv, blasted the world for its inadequate assistance to the African continent.
"More than five million children suffer from chronic malnutrition due to severe drought right now. It's intolerable, and the world is doing nothing," Tzachor argued.
The combined result will likely push millions of impoverished Africans toward affluent Western nations. As a strategic land bridge between Africa, Asia, and Europe, Israel is particularly vulnerable to an influx of migrants, as it is the only developed country that can be reached from Africa by foot. In the early 2010s, tens of thousands of African migrants reached Israel illegally via the Egyptian-Israeli border.
Israel’s decision to build a border fence largely ended the illegal infiltration. However, tens of thousands of illegal African migrants, mostly from Eritrea, still reside in southern Tel Aviv.
Hundreds of Eritrean migrants and dozens of Israeli police officers were injured during recent clashes in Tel Aviv between proponents and opponents of the Eritrean regime. Following the unprecedented clash, the Israeli government is considering deporting violent Eritrean rioters.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
