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Last update - 09:10 31/12/2006
Canada probing abuse claims of asylum seekers from Israel
By Ruth Sinai, Haaretz Correspondent

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
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f immigrant children, and how effective their response has been thus far.

The head of the Council for the Child, Dr. Yitzhak Kadman, said in response that official bodies do not have clear policies that put immigrant children at a disadvantage, but that these children encounter problems typical of an immigrant population. For example, the number of immigrant children involved in crime and substance abuse is proportionally high, and investment in education and welfare programs to deal with these crises is insufficient.

Kadman further responded that immigrant children are not particular victims of violence or abuse in the schools. With regard to immigrant children as an at-risk group, he reported that children from the Central Asian republics have had an especially hard time adjusting, as do children arriving in Israel on tourist visas who do not have legal residency in Israel
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  1.   What column are these guys 3rd or 4th? 04:04  |  Guy From NYC 31/12/06
  2.   Ho-hum 04:22  |  Hannah 31/12/06
  3.   Welcome 04:44  |  JJ 31/12/06
  4.   abuse claims 06:53  |  robin 31/12/06
  5.   Canada`s insane open door policy 07:29  |  dave 31/12/06
  6.   #3 - Nope, Israel is no different 07:33  |  Slibovitz 31/12/06
  7.   blame us for the scams 07:50  |  miloimnick frm north 31/12/06
  8.   BIG MISCONCEPTION DAVE! 07:52  |  RYAN Sargeant 31/12/06
  9.   A bunch of losers 07:58  |  Sherman 31/12/06
  10.   It`s an old story 08:12  |  MGB 31/12/06
  11.   Immigrant children 08:17  |  Israel Israeli 31/12/06
  12.   Israelis seeking asylum 08:20  |  Dan Kovnat 31/12/06
  13.   fill in info 08:24  |  BO 31/12/06
  14.   the real abusers are . . . 08:39  |  Official 31/12/06
  15.   Israel`s rubbish shouldn`t be allowed in Canada 08:51  |  kooskoos 31/12/06
  16.   note 09:05  |  byebye 31/12/06
  17.   A Story About Nothing. 09:25  |  Terry 31/12/06
  18.   KOOS KOOS 15 09:33  |  BO 31/12/06
  19.   About the reaction of some to this simple article 09:37  |  S 31/12/06
  20.   byebye 10:00  |  Eli 31/12/06
  21.   Opression as a way of life 10:04  |  Natallie Durson 31/12/06
  22.   #11: Israel Israeli 10:05  |  keith 31/12/06
  23.   bye bye 10:08  |  Edifice 31/12/06
  24.   #1 10:11  |  EE 31/12/06
  25.   #16 sick and wrong comments. 10:18  |  Mike 31/12/06
  26.   Why would anyone want to leave the jewish paradise? 10:19  |  Canadian 31/12/06
  27.   This is bullsh..t. These people just want money and comfort. 10:20  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 31/12/06
  28.   A Reaction to this simple article 10:21  |  S 31/12/06
  29.   Important subject -- more info needed. 10:29  |  Ben Azai 31/12/06
  30.   Canadian 10:44  |  Also Canadian 31/12/06
  31.   I`m an Immigrant, too 11:01  |  Mariano 31/12/06
  32.   Israel may not the ugliest country in the world, 11:21  |  American living here 31/12/06
  33.   Sorry, simply indescribable Part 1 11:24  |  TonyL 31/12/06
  34.   Sorry, simply indescribable-Conclusion 11:30  |  TonyL 31/12/06
  35.   Canadian 11:34  |  S 31/12/06
  36.   #19, S 11:38  |  Hannah 31/12/06
  37.   American Living Here 11:41  |  Also American Here 31/12/06
  38.   immigrants 11:43  |  j10 31/12/06
  39.   THE CANADIAN BRAIN GAP OPENS WIDE 11:44  |  paul harris 31/12/06
  40.   Its hard 11:46  |  Jonas 31/12/06
  41.   Jewish Status. 11:46  |  Maureen Ann 31/12/06
  42.   To # 5- dave from nyc and # 8 - Ryan my fellow canadian 12:00  |  Klaudia 31/12/06
  43.   #36 Hannah 12:02  |  S 31/12/06
  44.   Seeking Refuge.... Dont make me laugh 12:03  |  Leor 31/12/06
  45.   paul harris #39 12:08  |  TonyL 31/12/06
  46.   Answer to keith number 22. 12:12  |  David Nigel Braham 31/12/06
  47.   Answer to number 32. 12:15  |  David Nigel Braham 31/12/06
  48.   # 39- Paul Harris 12:20  |  Klaudia 31/12/06
  49.   #43, S 12:35  |  Hannah 31/12/06
  50.   #41 MAUREEN AND TOTAL TRIPE FROM OZ 12:36  |  paul harris 31/12/06
  51.   Hi Klaudia 12:36  |  S 31/12/06
  52.   #44, leor 12:39  |  Hannah 31/12/06
  53.   # 51- That`s OK, S....Don`t Worry About it ! 12:47  |  Klaudia 31/12/06
  54.   Happy New Year to Haaretz Censors ( in verse ) 13:04  |  Klaudia 31/12/06
  55.   One Thing No One Mentions .... 13:08  |  Terry 31/12/06
  56.   American Living Here 13:15  |  Svetlana 31/12/06
  57.   #54 KLAUDIA WHAT TUNE SHALL I SING IT TO ?? 13:29  |  paul harris 31/12/06
  58.   True Discrimination 13:45  |  Ephraim 31/12/06
  59.   #37 13:55  |  byebye 31/12/06
  60.   Klaudia number 42. 14:07  |  David Nigel Braham 31/12/06
  61.   If it`ll get the skinheads off `our` streets... 14:08  |  D Hirod 31/12/06
  62.   asylum seekers 14:11  |  jon purizhansky 31/12/06
  63.   what a load of rubbish 14:13  |  rich 31/12/06
  64.   to Klaudia #54 14:17  |  Leon Rosgarten 31/12/06
  65.   locals biassed attitude to russian jews=rasism? 14:21  |  Oleg 31/12/06
  66.   Something rotten in the State of Israel? 14:22  |  Toronto`s Finest 31/12/06
  67.   Bullies at school and anti-Semitism 14:30  |  KUTW 31/12/06
  68.   Ephraim #58 14:38  |  S 31/12/06
  69.   16. byebye: Drawing general conclusions from a problem 14:41  |  KUTW 31/12/06
  70.   Reading caustic Israeli comments above, no wonder... 14:44  |  Wow 31/12/06
  71.   EVERY immigrant society has high emigration 15:00  |  D 31/12/06
  72.   Klaudia 15:02  |  Danite 31/12/06
  73.   Russian Scam Artists 15:05  |  Danite 31/12/06
  74.   # 64- Leon Rosgarten..... Lighten Up !! 15:08  |  Klaudia