Ethiopian asylum seekers in Israel face deportation after years without permanent status
Asked whether any of this had left him bitter toward Israel, one Ethiopian asylum seeker, who asked not to be named for fear of deportation, rejected the premise. “I don’t hate,” he said.
Endalkew Yemani Tesma fled Ethiopia in 2005, arriving in Israel in 2008 after passing through Sudan and Libya, where he was held captive and abused by Bedouin traffickers. He received a 2(a)5 visa, a renewable permit for asylum seekers while their claims were pending. Yemani Tesma and his family have lived in Israel for nearly two decades, but their protection could be revoked after a High Court decision last December.
With a 0.1% asylum approval rate in Israel, the family faces deportation. Only a few NGOs, like the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, have managed to secure approvals for Ethiopian asylum seekers. Eritreans and Sudanese still hold group protection due to the ongoing civil unrest in Ethiopia, but Ethiopians do not have this safety net.
Israel granted group protection to Ethiopians in 2021, but withdrew it in January 2024, citing improved security conditions in Ethiopia. The decision to revoke protection was upheld by the High Court in December 2025, and the Population and Immigration Authority is now actively rejecting Ethiopian asylum claims and pushing them towards deportation.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
