High Court sees African migrants for what they are: People

 It wasn’t only the asylum seekers whom the court saw as human beings: It was also attentive to the distress of residents of south Tel Aviv, where many of these asylum seekers live. But while recognizing that these residents feel their personal security has deteriorated as a result of the large numbers of African migrants living in their neighborhoods, Arbel rightly stressed that this problem can’t be solved by jailing innocents.
It would have been better had the court overturned the law not only because it infringed disproportionately on human rights, but also because it served an inappropriate purpose – jailing some people in order to deter others from coming to Israel. The court considered this issue, but ultimately failed to reach a decision.
Nevertheless, the ruling’s net result is to return the situation to what it was before this law was passed – namely, that someone can be jailed for the purpose of deportation for at most 60 days. It must be hoped that the cabinet and the Knesset will seize this opportunity to develop a policy that takes Israel’s obligations toward asylum seekers seriously and upholds both their rights and the rights of residents of south Tel Aviv, rather than pitting these two disadvantaged populations against each other.
High Court sees African migrants for what they are: People - National Israel News | Haaretz