Some 60% of Israelis believe that the population of African refugees in the country poses a danger to Israeli society, according to a MarketWatch poll conducted ahead of International Refugee Day, which will be marked around the world on Thursday.
The poll, which asked several hundred Israelis questions about their views on refugees, was commissioned by the Center for International Migration & Integration, an organization that was founded by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
The poll found that 68.8% of respondents think that refugees are a burden on the Israeli economy. Some 54% said refugees take jobs away from Israeli citizens. Only one-third of respondents believe children of refugees should be integrated into Israel's education system.
Some 42% of respondents said Israel doesn't need to force refugees to return to their countries of origin and 35% said that Israel has a moral obligation to care for refugees.
CIMI Chairman Arnon Mantver said the poll highlighted two trends.
"On one hand, the Israeli public doesn't know the refugee population and therefore fears it and attributes negative traits to it," Mantver said. "On the other hand, the public also remembers that in the not-too-distant past we were also refugees in grave humanitarian distress and therefore it is our moral duty to help refugees."
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