Strangers among us: Five neighborhoods in the city of Tel Aviv have a clear majority of foreigners, according to a report by the State Comptroller published today (Wednesday). The neighborhoods are Neve Sha'anan, Florentin, Shapira, Kiryat Shalom, and Tikva. These neighborhoods have a difficult and complex living situation, and local residents in the neighborhoods report a severe sense of personal insecurity, according to the Comptroller.
The Comptroller further claims that the State of Israel is the only country among the industrialized countries that does not have a uniform immigration policy, and the failure in this area has led to damage to the lives of the country's citizens who suffer from the entry of foreigners into the country. The Comptroller added that the basic rights of foreign workers have also been harmed as a result.
In June 2013, approximately 230,000 foreigners lived in Israel. 54,000 of them are citizens of Eritrea and Sudan who are not subject to deportation. Approximately 61,000 foreigners live in the southern neighborhoods of Tel Aviv, constituting approximately 61 percent of the population of those neighborhoods.
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The large number of foreigners in the neighborhoods, according to the inspector, leads to a series of additional deficiencies. The apartments in these areas house large groups of foreigners living in extreme overcrowding, and in addition, there are pirated connections of dangerous gas and electrical installations. The inspector notes that the Ministry of Energy has information about the unusual and severe use of gas in these neighborhoods, and the reason for the lack of supervision is a shortage of manpower.
The auditor also blames these failures on the police, who were aware of the citizens' sense of insecurity in these areas, and yet there is a shortage of manpower in the police stations responsible for these areas.
