Protest in Tel Aviv
Photo: Gilad Morag
South TA residents criticize government on migrant policy
Residents of Tel Aviv's southern neighborhoods protest in wake of High Court's striking of law allowing detention of infiltrators for three years without trial, urge government to 'find a solution fast'.
More than one hundred people protested Saturday night in Tel Aviv against the High Court's decision to shutter the Holot detention facility. The demonstrators complained of the government's failure to deal with the asylum seekers in their neighborhood.
"We chose the Israeli government to represent us, not the High Court's government," said Yaron Oded, one of the demonstrators. "The government needs to find a solution fast," said Shalma Maslawi, the chairman of a local union.
"The residents are desperate and confused after the ruling. We want to give them hope that the fight is not over yet. The government cannot continue to surrender," he added.
After rewriting and amending the previous Infiltrators Law, which was struck down, human rights organizations argued that the new iteration also restricted their liberty.
Their appeal was accepted by the High Court of Justice, which ordered some two weeks ago of the closure of the Holot facility and struck down the amendment allowing for the detention of asylum seekers for up to a year.
"We took the High Court ruling very personally because it determined that the right of infiltrators to have their hobbies and meet significant others is more important than the right of our children to live in safety," said Sheffi Paz, a resident of south Tel Aviv.
"These neighborhoods will not be the place to dump anything, anytime. The residents here have their own rights," she added.
A Tel Aviv council member and resident of the city's southern neighborhood, Haim Goren, addressed the protesters.
"I see the ruling as an opportunity. The law never comprehensively solved the problem, and we have the chance to breathe new life into the fight and develop it into something significant, to include the removal of foreigners from the neighborhoods, and their rehabilitation and reinvestment," he said.
MK Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi), who also spoke at the protest, told Ynet: "I told the residents that we Knesset members all understand their pain and their distress. The justices are human beings, and the High Court of Justice made a mistake."
She added: "We will work in the Knesset to legislate the bill anew or fix the two-three amendments which the High Court pointed at. One way or another, in a month and a half from today – this bill will pass."
