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Reports: Thousands of Israelis seeking asylum in Canada
Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Thousands of Israelis, some citing fear of Palestinian terror attacks, others saying they are in danger of spousal abuse, have requested asylum in Canada and hundreds have so far been granted refugee status there, Israel's two mass-circulation dailies reported Friday.

Citing data received by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Yediot Ahronot said that since the year 2000, at least 3,000 Israelis had filed asylum applications. Maariv also gave the figure of 3,000 and said that upward of 500 applications had been approved.

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Globe and Mail

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Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) has asked Israel's National Council for the Child for information on immigrant children in Israel. Canadian authorities want to know whether immigrant children in Israel are being harassed or abused, in order to evaluate political asylum cases.

In 2005, 679 Israeli citizens sought asylum abroad, mainly in Canada. Some 200 requests were approved, mainly of citizens of the former Soviet Union who came to Israel but left claiming they were persecuted, because of their origin or religion.

In a letter last month, the IRB asked the council whether it could provide examples of mistreatment of immigrant children; whether children of immigrants from the former Soviet Union were subject to harm at school or violence in their neighborhoods, and whether certain groups of immigrant children were more at risk of abuse than others. The Canadian authorities also sought to understand how the Israeli government has been responding to reports of abuse of immigrant children, and how effective their response has been thus far.

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