Social workerssupported 256

people

ASSAF distributed 1195 food parcels

Volunteers dedicated 9064 hours on behalf of asylum seekers

ASSAF participated in 13 meetings

with policymakers

ASSAF published 27 reports and position papers

ASSAF held 28 lectures and group meetings

ASSAF was featured in 64 media

publications

39,087 people visited ASSAF's

English and Hebrew websites

16,930 people follow our English and Hebrew Facebook page

ASSAF assisted 105

families at risk

ASSAF assisted in the filing of 167 requests to the UN for resettlement

ASSAF lead 10 group therapies

ASSAF assisted 382 people

with disabilities and/or chronic

diseases

ASSAF supported 936 vulnerable asylum seekers

ASSAF assisted 73 homeless asylum-seekers

survivors of torture

ASSAF assisted

294

ASSAF held 88 open reception hours

The Rayne Trust The Canadian Embassyin Israel

Delegation of the European Union to the State of Israel Caritas Germany Desert Rose

The Sam & Bella Sebba Charitable Trust

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High

Commissioner (OHCHR- UNVFVT)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

in Israel (UNHCR)

New Israel Fund Jewish Humanitarian Fund

Richard Schoenstadt Memorial Foundation

Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality Healing Across the Divides (HATD)

Stiftung Auxilium New Signing

The Arkin FamilyFoundation

Mazon - A Jewish Response to Hunger

And many generousprivate donors

ACTIVITY REPORT 2018

Dear friends and supporters,

I am proud to present you with the 2018 ASSAF-Aid Association for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel Yearly Activity Report. While we are already several months into 2019, and hard at work assisting asylum seekers in Israel, it is

good to recall both the large and small events that characterized this past year. This report provides a

glimpse into ASSAF’s broad and diverse work on behalf of asylum seekers in Israel, and especially the most vulnerable groups: women, survivors of the Sinai Torture Camps, asylum seekers with disabilities, asylum seekers living with HIV, and youth.

The year 2018 was quite dramatic, and we faced many challenges. The humanitarian situation of asylum seekers became even more extreme due to the Deposit Law, and the government announced a plan to deport asylum seekers to third countries without any guarantee for their safety. There is no doubt that the severe economic distress, coupled with threat and anxiety, left their mark on the community of asylum seekers.

However we have also experienced many moments of hope. Tens of thousands of Israelis joined the struggle against the deportation and contributed to the collapse of this cruel plan.

Also this year, after years of struggle to achieve social rights for asylum seekers, we were informed that the government allocated a budget to provide essential welfare services for vulnerable asylum seekers. In addition, we succeeded in placing vulnerable and homeless asylum seekers into rehabilitation frameworks for the first time ever in Israel.

In 2018 we were happy to realize that we are not alone in our struggle. More than ever, we felt a part of a large and supportive network of people who chose not to stand idly by and watch asylum seekers be deported from Israel. During the darkest moments of the government’s deportation campaign, we were witness to Israelis who oppose injustice and are willing to work together for the sake of asylum seekers.

As of April 1, after eight years as ASSAF’s Executive Director, I will be resigning my position. I am sure ASSAF will continue to be a home for the community of asylum seekers and an organization leading the struggle for their rights.

Yours Truly,

Michal PinchukExecutive Director, ASSAFMarch, 2019

Statement by ASSAF's Executive Director, Adv. Michal Pinchuk

ACTIVITY REPORT 2018

ASSAF’s Staff and Board Members

Staff MembersAdv. Michal Pinchuk, Executive DirectorOrit Marom, Public Advocacy DirectorAdv. Michele Manspeizer, Resource Development DirectorTali Ehrenthal M.S.W, Psychosocial DirectorAdi Drori-Avraham, Advocacy CoordinatorAlva Kolan, Policy and Government Relations Promotion, Forum of Organizations for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in IsraelInbal Ben Yehuda, New-Media CoordinatorTali Almi, Volunteer and Community Relations ManagerYael Keren, Financial ManagerLia Bergman, Office Manager and Referral Coordinator, National Service Volunteer

Shachar Domb, Office Manager and Referral Coordinator, National Service VolunteerYael Federman, Advocacy and Support Center Follow-Up ManagerMichal Shechter, M.S.W, Victims of Torture and Human Trafficking Coordinator and Advocacy and Support Center Reception Hours ManagerIrit Oren, M.S.W, Asylum Seekers with Disabilities and Asylum Seekers Living with HIV Programs CoordinatorMiriam Mayer, M.A Social Work, Women's Program CoordinatorGidon Ben Arie, Youth Program CoordinatorEden Tesfamariam, Community MediatorSalamawit Walledo, Community Mediator

Solomon Gebreyohanes, Community MediatorEli Amon, Building Superintendent

90 volunteers

Board MembersRoi Metzer (Chairman)Amnon VidanDr. Idit Balit-CohenAdv. Leah Miller ForstadtAdv. Osnat Cohen-LifshitzAsaf RajuanMerav Bat-GilTali Kaminer

ASSAF in Numbers

ASSAF would like to thank the following entities and donors for their support:

Donate to ASSAFASSAF is a non-profit organization (#580474955) that does not receive any government support. The organization's activities are made entirely possible thanks to the generous support of partner entities and private donors.As a non-profit, ASSAF needs your help and support in order to continue its activities supporting refugee communities in Israel.We invite you to take part in this important activity by making an ongoing pledge or one-time donation by the following means:To make a secure credit card donation click hereDonations to ASSAF through the Israel Gives website can be tax deductible in the United States (501c3), in Israel (Article 46A), and in England.By bank transfer: Discount Bank account number 70818985, branch 014IBAN IL410110140000070818985 SWIFT BIC IDBLILITXXXChecks to ASSAF can be sent to 52 Golomb Street, Tel Aviv, Zip Code 6617141Donations to ASSAF are tax-deductible in Israel according to article 46 AFor additional details, please contact usVia email: info@assaf.org.ilVia mail: 52 Golomb Street, Tel Aviv, Israel 6617141We welcome opportunities for collaboration and partnership

Graphic Design: amirreuveni.comTranslation: Allison Ofanansky, Michele Manspeizer

ASSAF assisted

112 single mothers

90 youth participated

in ASSAF's Youth Club

DECEMBER Training for community mediators. Thirteen mediators from the Eritrean and Sudanese communities, who work with organizations that serve asylum seekers in Israel, have been trained in translation and mediation pertaining to communal, emotional and cultural aspects of their situation. The course concluded with a moving ceremony and a sense of satisfaction.

OCTOBER A blind asylum seeker receives rehabilitation services.Yunis, an asylum seeker, became blind from an illness and could not function independently. The Advocacy and Support Center was able to place Yunis at the Center for the Blind in Tel Aviv, which is helping him achieve greater independence.

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AUGUST Youth Club summer activities.Members of ASSAF's youth club enjoyed a break from the past school year with refreshing summer activities. Activities included go-karting, kayaking, swimming in municipal swimming pools and enjoying evenings at the Club.

APRIL The threat is lifted; deportation is canceled. The Prime Minister announced the cancelation of the deportation to Rwanda. Uganda announced that it would not accept refugees who had been deported. The Prime Minister declared support for the UNHCR's plan to resettle half of the asylum seekers in Western countries, but rescinded his support in less than 24 hours.

SEPTEMBER Resettlement of an asylum seeker from Darfur. Salah, a homeless asylum-seeker from Darfur, received ongoing support from the Advocacy and Support Center. The Center’s staff assisted Salah to submit a request for resettlement, and In September the request was approved. In the new country Salah will finally receive his fundamental rights.

FEBRUARY Massive demonstrations against deportation and for South Tel Aviv. Tens of thousands of people participated in demonstrations to demand fair and humane solutions to the plight of refugees and the neglect of South Tel Aviv neighborhoods. ASSAF was a key player in the coalition of organizations, which organized the demonstrations.

MARCH First placement of an asylum seeker in a Ministry of Social Services rehabilitation center. After ASSAF's long and intensive intervention, Musa, an asylum seeker living with cancer, was finally admitted into a Ministry of Social Services run rehabilitation center.

MARCH Youth club participants and alumni fight against deportation. Teens from ASSAF’s youth club courageously appeared in the media and on large street signs opposing the government's deportation plans and garnering public opinion. These brave teens spoke about their pain and fear of deportation.

APRIL 'Memory in the living room' at ASSAF’s Youth Club. On Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, the ASSAF Youth Club hosted Leah, a Holocaust survivor who at the age of 15 was also a refugee. This encounter gave the youth a sense of solidarity and curiosity, and raised complex feelings of both despair and hope.

MAY Support for business leaders’ program for integration and rehabilitation. Sixty-four Israeli business leaders announced an innovative program to integrate asylum seekers into Israeli society and rehabilitate south Tel Aviv. This program supports the UNHCR plan and promotes social rights, employment, and dispersing refugees throughout Israel.

MAY Ministry of Justice initiative in favor of victims of torture in Sinai. Thanks to ASSAF’s long-term work with the Israeli government and the international community, the State of Israel finally began to recognize its responsibility towards victims of the Sinai Torture Camps, and began a program to document and map their needs.

“THEY MAKE ME GO HUNGRY SO I WOULD LEAVE ISRAEL”

The human cost of the “Deposit Law” seen through the experiences of asylum seekers at ASSAF | Situation Report - July 2018

JULY ASSAF’s report exposes the ramifications of the Deposit Law. ASSAF published a situational report on the Deposit Law, through which the government garnishes 20% of asylum-seekers' salaries. The report shows how this cruel policy causes an increase in the number of asylum seekers facing poverty and hunger, and harms the health and personal security of children and families.

SEPTEMBER Group therapy for men who survived the Sinai Torture Camps.Group therapy provided participants with important tools, friendships, and the courage to continue. Group members promised to continue to meet and to support each other.

OCTOBER A successful fundraising campaign. Hundreds of people donated to ASSAF's Advocacy and Support Center. We raised over 100,000 NIS and extended the Center’s crucial support to vulnerable asylum seekers throughout the year. We were inspired by this show of commitment.

NOVEMBER ASSAF receives the New Israel Fund Human Rights Award 2018.The New Israel Fund in the UK awarded ASSAF and partner organizations a prize in recognition of the struggle against the deportation plan. At a festive ceremony in London, we spoke about our work on behalf of asylum seekers in Israel.

DECEMEBR UN Committee Against Torture demands response from the State of Israel. Following ASSAF's submission, the UN Committee Against Torture addressed grave questions to the State of Israel regarding the neglect of victims of torture and the pressure exerted on them by the deportation plan. In addition, the Committee requested an update on the Ministry of Justice's mapping of victims' needs.

DECEMBER Increasing the budget for assisting vulnerable asylum seekers.The recommendations of an inter-ministerial team headed by Prof. Mor Yosef included an additional 26 million NIS to assist the most vulnerable asylum seekers. This is another victory in the protracted struggle to implement the 2014 recommendations of the State Comptroller's Report.

NOVEMBER Petition to open welfare offices to asylum seekers. The first hearing was held in ASSAF's petition requiring the Minister of Social Services to open municipal welfare offices, in accordance with Israeli law, to asylum seekers in need of their services.

Yoav Dothan

JANUARY Deportation equals Murder – The Struggle Begins. After years of working against Israel’s secret deportation agreements with Rwanda and Uganda, 2018 began with a public campaign to prevent the deportation of asylum seekers. This campaign was unprecedented in its intensity and scope. ASSAF worked on all fronts - within the local community, the Israeli public and the international arena.

Soni

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aim

FEBRUARY Group therapy for asylum seekers in the shadow of deportation.Asylum seekers with disabilities participated in group therapy providing them with tools to cope with their especially challenging situations within the context of a difficult and threatening reality.

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לדה ו

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