A new tour introduced in Tel Aviv this week allows locals and foreigners to catch a glimpse of the infiltrator phenomenon in the city's southern neighborhoods.
The tour enables participants to learn about the lifestyle of African migrants and meet with veteran residents of south Tel Aviv who have seen their lives change dramatically over the last three years with the influx of infiltrators.
The tour is guided by neighborhood committee activists, including Itzik Gini and Tel Aviv city council member Shlomo Maslawi. MK Danny Danon (Likud), head of the lobby on infiltrators in the Knesset, assisted with putting together the tour program.
"The tour will expose the public to the real situation in south Tel Aviv and make it clear that the public should try to prevent similar situations in other cities across the country, and that in order for us to protect Israeli citizens, we must deport infiltrators," Danon said.
The tour, which takes place twice a week in groups of 15 people and by appointment only, begins in Levinsky Park, which veteran residents of south Tel Aviv have nicknamed the infiltrators’ "Bakum" (the military induction center for new soldiers). The illegal migrants arrive at the park by bus straight from the Saharonim detention center in the south, and spend most of the day and night there.
During the tour, special emphasis is given to synagogues in the area, some of whose courtyards have been turned into public bathrooms by the infiltrators, and others that were abandoned after residents decided that walking to and from them had became dangerous, especially in the evening hours. One of the abandoned synagogues, Yesod Hamaalah, is the oldest in the area.
The tour passes through Bnei Brak Street, stopping in front of the yard of a building which has been transformed into a movie club by infiltrators, in which films are shown and drinks are served all day long. On the same street, at the corner of Neve Shaanan Street, is a vibrant commercial spot, containing mainly stolen goods for sale, particularly bicycles.
At 36 Neve Shaanan Street, a yard is filled with infiltrators who are drug addicts. At No. 57, a resident called Ester says she is unable to leave her house in the evenings because her yard turns into a sleeping area for infiltrators.
