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Abstract
Little is known about racial identity claims of African migrants living in Israel who originate from countries where race is not a dominant identity marker. This article examines how Eritrean migrants, coming from a country where race-based social organisation is not prevalent, strategically adopted ‘Black’ as their identity marker in Israel. Online newspaper reports and conversational interviews with four Eritrean migrants were used as sources of data. During various anti-deportation protests, Eritrean migrants held signs with slogans referring to themselves as Black. Some of the slogans include: ‘Do Black lives matter in Israel?’, ‘Black or White I am human’, ‘Deported to death because I am Black’, and ‘Now I am White, will you deport me?’ I argue that for first generation Eritrean migrants in Israel, Black racial identity was adopted strategically as a political identity of social mobilisation and resistance in the face of a racialised and exclusionary migration policy.
Résumé
On sait peu de choses sur les revendications d’ identité raciale des migrants africains qui résident en Israël et originaires de pays où la race n’ est pas un marqueur d’ identité dominant. Cet article examine la manière dont les migrants érythréens, venus d’ un pays où les identités raciales ne sont pas prévalentes, ont stratégiquement adopté le terme “ Noir ” comme marqueur identitaire en Israël. Des articles de journaux en ligne et des entretiens conversationnels réalisés par appel vidéo WhatsApp avec quatre migrants érythréens ont été utilisés comme sources de données. Lors de diverses manifestations contre l’ expulsion, les migrants érythréens ont brandi des pancartes avec des slogans faisant référence à leur identité noire. Voici quelques-uns de ces slogans : “ Do Black lives matter in Israel? ”, “ Black or White I am human ”, “ Deported to death because I am Black ”, et “ Now I am White, will you deport me? ”. Je soutiens que pour les migrants érythréens de première génération en Israël, l’ identité raciale noire a été adoptée stratégiquement en tant qu’ identité politique de mobilisation sociale et de résistance face à une politique migratoire racialisée et excluante.
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Abstract
Little is known about racial identity claims of African migrants living in Israel who originate from countries where race is not a dominant identity marker. This article examines how Eritrean migrants, coming from a country where race-based social organisation is not prevalent, strategically adopted ‘Black’ as their identity marker in Israel. Online newspaper reports and conversational interviews with four Eritrean migrants were used as sources of data. During various anti-deportation protests, Eritrean migrants held signs with slogans referring to themselves as Black. Some of the slogans include: ‘Do Black lives matter in Israel?’, ‘Black or White I am human’, ‘Deported to death because I am Black’, and ‘Now I am White, will you deport me?’ I argue that for first generation Eritrean migrants in Israel, Black racial identity was adopted strategically as a political identity of social mobilisation and resistance in the face of a racialised and exclusionary migration policy.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 526 | 240 | 19 |
| Full Text Views | 20 | 11 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 37 | 21 | 0 |