Environment Minister Idit Silman has declared the Nile crocodile a “specially managed wild animal,” clearing a path for what has been dubbed Israel’s “Alligator Alcatraz” plan: National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s proposal to place crocodiles around prisons holding security prisoners. The decision was made despite opposition from Silman’s own ministry legal adviser and the professional position of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, whose officials warned that the initiative lacks a professional basis, has no known modern precedent and may violate existing law.
Several months ago, pressure was placed on the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to allow the National Security Ministry to receive crocodiles from Hamat Gader and position them around prisons. The initial pilot for the Israeli “Alligator Alcatraz” was intended for Ketziot Prison.
The nickname echoes “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention center opened by Florida authorities in July 2025 at a remote airfield in the Everglades. Officials promoted the surrounding alligators and swampland as natural barriers to escape, while the facility became a symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and drew legal and environmental challenges.
The authority rejected the proposal, saying wild animals of this kind may be kept only for education, research and public-information purposes. “We are supposed to protect them, not have them protect us. That is not the spirit of the law,” officials told Ben-Gvir and Silman.
In an effort to overcome that restriction, the ministers sought to have the Nile crocodile classified as a “specially managed wild animal.” Crocodiles had previously been given such a classification to allow their commercial breeding for leather. That industry, however, created numerous problems, including escapes, concerns that crocodiles could enter the wild and risks to human life. Former Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan eventually ended the arrangement following a recommendation by the advisory committee of the Nature and Parks Authority council.
Environment Minister Idit Silman
(Photo: Yair Sagi)
Silman has now effectively revived a dormant provision of the Wildlife Protection Law to advance the “Alligator Alcatraz” proposal. In practice, however, her decision creates a new category: a specially managed wild animal for security purposes. Under the declaration, the animals would be held by a security organization, subject to the environment minister’s approval that a security need exists.
Legal officials argue that this is more than a regulatory change and would require primary legislation.
The Environmental Protection Ministry’s legal adviser, attorney Neta Drori, wrote to Silman last month that there was insufficient professional and factual groundwork to proceed and that there was no known professional precedent for using crocodiles as a security measure at modern prisons.
That assessment contradicted claims by the Israel Prison Service that crocodiles had been used for such purposes in the United States and South America.
“With regard to the use made in the United States, it was noted that this was an experiment conducted for a short period and then discontinued,” Drori wrote. “It apparently involved an area where crocodiles were already naturally present, and therefore there is no basis for comparison.”
She also said the Prison Service request required an in-depth animal-welfare review. “Although Prison Service officials said they were aware of and prepared to ensure the animals’ physical welfare, including based on their experience operating canine units, the organization does not appear to have expertise in raising dangerous wild animals such as crocodiles,” she wrote.
Drori added that the legal process would require consultation with the Nature and Parks Authority council, relevant government bodies and the publication of the proposal for public comment, particularly given the professional assessment that raising crocodiles involves critical risks.
She concluded with a clear legal warning: “In light of the above, our position is that the conditions required for a declaration under the law have not been met, and there is a legal impediment to advancing the declaration as requested.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Police Commissioner Danny Levy
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Silman nevertheless rejected the legal adviser’s position, saying a senior professional at the Nature and Parks Authority had told her the authority did not oppose the Prison Service initiative and that a previously approved framework could be used.
Several weeks ago, Ben-Gvir and Silman met with the Nature and Parks Authority director-general and the Environmental Protection Ministry’s legal adviser and said they wanted crocodiles to be positioned around a prison. The legal adviser again told them that the “Alligator Alcatraz” plan could not be implemented and that there was no legal authority to do so, but Silman insisted on moving forward.
The Nature and Parks Authority council is expected to discuss the proposal again soon, after Silman bypassed the position of her own ministry’s legal adviser.
“The minister is acting against her legal adviser, against the legal opinion of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, against the authority’s council and against the law,” a professional source said. “In other words, there is no legal basis for it.”
Silman has not yet responded.