Fighting for Dignity: Migrant Lives at Israel's Margins

The Israeli government launched an aggressive deportation campaign targeting newly arrived migrants from various countries, aiming to promote an exclusionary vision of Israel as a Jewish state and to address high unemployment. This campaign devastated Tel Aviv's migrant communities and set the stage for more aggressive antimigrant and antirefugee policies. Fighting for Dignity explores the roots of this campaign in Israeli history and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting the devastating effects of policies that illegalize and criminalize migrants on their lives, health, and human capacity to flourish. The book also introduces Israeli activists who reject their government's exclusionary agenda and work to build bridges across differences, repair violations of migrants' dignity, and resist policies that violate their moral convictions.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 344 pages
Publication date: 07 May 2021
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

In her book, Fighting for Dignity, Sarah S. Willen delves into the devastating consequences of the Israeli government's aggressive deportation campaign targeting newly arrived migrants from diverse countries such as Ghana, the Philippines, Nigeria, Colombia, and Ukraine. While the campaign was initially presented as a solution to high unemployment, it had a hidden objective: to promote an exclusive vision of Israel as a Jewish state, where non-Jews have no place. This deportation campaign wreaked havoc on Tel Aviv's migrant communities, setting the stage for even more stringent antimigrant and antirefugee policies in the years to come.

Fighting for Dignity explores the historical roots of this campaign and its connection to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It sheds light on the devastating impact of policies that illegalize and criminalize migrants, compromising their health, well-being, and potential for flourishing. Children born to migrant parents face unique developmental and psychosocial risks, highlighting the urgent need for support and protection.

Through nearly two decades of ethnographic engagement in homes, churches, medical offices, advocacy organizations, and public spaces, Willen provides a poignant account of the struggles faced by migrants as they navigate the complexities of exclusion and vulnerability. She showcases their resilience and determination in carving out meaningful lives, despite the obstacles they encounter. To complement the migrants' perspectives, Willen introduces Israeli activists who oppose their government's exclusionary agenda and work tirelessly to build bridges across differences, repair violations of migrants' dignity, and resist policies that go against their moral convictions.

Willen's vivid and unflinching ethnography challenges us to reevaluate our understanding of global migration, human rights, the Middle East, and even the concept of dignity itself. It compels us to confront the systemic injustices and inequalities that perpetuate displacement and marginalization, and to advocate for policies that uphold the rights and dignity of all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances.

Weight: 496g
Dimension: 229 x 151 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780812224900