IN PICTURES: A traditional Christian Eritrean wedding in Tel Aviv

Christian Eritrean migrants resplendent in traditional dress, celebrating during a Tewahdo or Orthodox wedding ceremony.

Eritrean wedding‏ (photo credit: REUTERS)
Eritrean wedding‏
(photo credit: REUTERS)
While the tens of thousands of Eritrean migrants living in Israel generally only make headlines for trying to stay in the country despite the government's better efforts, it turns out they also marry in Israel, sometimes in elaborate ceremonies.

Christian Eritrean migrants were resplendent in traditional dress, celebrating during a Tewahdo or Orthodox wedding ceremony in Tel Aviv on Saturday.More than 50,000 Africans - mainly Sudanese and Eritreans - have in the past eight years crossed into Israel surreptitiously through a once-porous, and now fenced border with Egypt. Many say they seek asylum from war-torn homelands, but Israel dismisses most as illegal job seekers although some have been granted limited visas. Authorities complain of heightened social tensions in more impoverished parts of Tel Aviv where Africans settle. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said the influx threatens Israel's Jewish character and wants the majority of migrants removed.