14 Jewish organizations, including HIAS, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights of AJC, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, today expressed concerns about a new “anti-infiltration” bill in a letter delivered to the Prime Minister’s Office in Israel and the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. The measure, set for a first reading in the Knesset on Monday, would raise serious questions about compliance with a recent Israeli High Court of Justice Ruling.
The High Court ruled that detaining asylum seekers without trial for a minimum of three years violates Israel’s Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty, and it set a December 15 deadline for when 1,750 asylum seekers and migrants must be individually examined for release. Despite this ruling, the new draft law calls for the vast majority of these individuals to remain in detention.
“Some have tried to justify the forced detention of asylum seekers, many of whom have suffered torture and abuse in their home countries, by characterizing Africans as criminals, infiltrators, or threats to the Jewish character of the state,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah. “But the true threat to the Jewish character of the state is the government’s abandonment of the Jewish imperative of care for the gerim–the landless sojourners who seek refuge among us.”
Under the proposed legislation, asylum seekers who cannot be deported because of danger to their life or freedom would be transferred to an “open facility,” after one year in administrative detention. Media reports indicate they will likely be sent to Sadot, in the Negev desert, which can currently hold 3,300 individuals. Some asylum seekers not currently detained will also likely be sent to Sadot, and the facility will be run by the Israeli Prison Service. According to the bill, Sadot residents will be required to report in three times a day, to prevent work or flight, and there will be no limit on the length of residence.
“The isolated desert location of the Sadot facility, its oversight by the Israel Prison Service, the indefinite duration of the residence there, requiring that detainees spend the night and check-in three times during daylight hours clearly demonstrates this facility is detention,” said Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of HIAS, the international Jewish agency dedicated to refugee protection. “I am afraid that the new ‘antiinfiltration’ legislation will circumvent the unanimous ruling of the Israeli High Court.”
The legislation’s requirements stand in contrast to the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees’ 2012 Detention Guidelines, which would limit detention for asylum seekers to a last resort, noting that detention may not be indefinite or applied retroactively. The letter urges the government to recommit itself to the design and implementation of asylum policies that are consistent with the decisions of Israel’s own independent judiciary and its international law obligations.
The legislation will be presented to the Knesset plenum for its first reading on Monday.
Signatories to the letter include:
• Ameinu
• Hashomer Hatzair North America
• Habonim Dror North America
• HIAS
• Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights of AJC
• Jewish Council for Public Affairs
• Jewish Labor Committee
• The Moriah Fund
• New Israel Fund
• Partners for Progressive Israel
• René Cassin
• Right Now
• T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
• Reconstructionist Rabbinical College / Jewish Reconstructionist Communities
Read the full letter here:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street, Qiryat Ben-Gurion
P.O. Box 187, 91919 Jerusalem
Israel
24 November 2013
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
On 16 September 2013, the High Court of Justice unanimously overturned amendments to the Prevention of Infiltration Law, ruling that administrative detention of asylum seekers without trial for a minimum of three years violates Israel’s Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty. The High Court set a deadline of 15 December 2013 by which the cases of some 1,750 asylum seekers and migrants must be individually examined for release.
Despite this ruling, legislation that has been approved by the cabinet and is before the Knesset, calls for the vast majority of these individuals to remain in detention. According to the proposed legislation, asylum seekers who cannot be deported because their life or freedom would be in danger will be transferred to an “open facility,” after one year in administrative detention. Media reports claim they will likely be sent to Sadot, in the Negev desert, which can currently hold 3,300 individuals. Furthermore, it is reported that some asylum seekers not currently detained will also be sent to Sadot, which will be run by the Israeli Prison Service. The legislation indicates that they will be required to report in three times a day, to prevent work or flight. Reportedly, there will be no limit on the length of residence in Sadot.
The relative isolation of the Sadot facility, its oversight by the Israel Prison Service, the indefinite duration of the residence and the frequent reporting requirement together suggest an extended form of detention. Further, these conditions call into question whether the policies enumerated in the proposed legislation comport with the High Court’s decision. These requirements also stand in contrast to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ 2012 Detention Guidelines, which would limit detention for asylum seekers to a last resort, noting that detention may not be indefinite or applied retroactively.
As a result, we, the undersigned organizations, urge the Israeli government to release the remaining eligible individuals from detention promptly in accordance with the High Court decision.
In addition, we take this opportunity to encourage the Israeli government, as we have done in previous instances, to ameliorate the condition of asylum seekers in Israel in line with due process and humanitarian considerations by guaranteeing the implementation of full, fair, and transparent refugee status determination procedures, which, in accordance with Israel’s obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, guarantee access to legal counsel and appropriate interpreters, and an independent appeal process. We further urge that the Israeli authorities provide asylum seekers social services, work or business permits, and freedom of movement, to the extent possible, including (if applicable) in Sadot; and allow asylum seekers to remain in Israel’s urban centers rather than transferring some or all to Sadot or any other “open facility.”
We realize that, in recent years, Israel had become a favored destination for asylum seekers from Africa, primarily Eritrea and Sudan, and that the country now hosts some 55,000 such persons. We recognize that this population had presented a mounting social and demographic challenge easy to underestimate. But Israel’s recent completion of a fence along the border with Egypt has virtually stopped the arrival of new asylum seekers from Africa and has therefore mitigated the growth of this challenge.
As steadfast friends of Israel, we respectfully urge the government to recommit itself to the design and implementation of asylum policies that are consistent with the decisions of Israel’s own independent judiciary, its international law obligations, and our shared Jewish values.
Sincerely,
In alphabetical order:
Gideon Aronoff, Chief Executive Officer, Ameinu
Gal Peleg Laniado, Central Shaliach, Hashomer Hatzair North America
Kali Silverman, Director, Habonim Dror North America
Mark Hetfield, President and CEO, HIAS
E. Robert Goodkind, Chair, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights of AJC
Rabbi Steve Gutow, Executive Director, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Rita Freedman, Acting Executive Director, Jewish Labor Committee
Mary Ann Stein, President, The Moriah Fund
Rabbi David Rosenn, Executive Vice President, New Israel Fund
Ron Skolnik, Executive Director, Partners for Progressive Israel
Shauna Leven, Director, René Cassin
Maya Paley, Founder, Right Now
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Deborah Waxman, President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College/Jewish Reconstructionist Communities