Refugees from Africa line up at a makeshift immigrant processing center in Bnei Brak, the only one open to them in Israel. Photo by Simone Wilson

One hour before the 19th Israeli Knesset, or parliament, dissolved forever on Dec. 8, its members made a last-ditch effort to save Holot, the open desert prison they created one year prior to detain undocumented Eritrean and Sudanese immigrants.

On the table was a fifth amendment to the half-century-old Anti-Infiltration Law created to prevent Palestinian refugees from returning to Israel, but amended in recent years to govern the fate of 50,000 Africans who trekked to Israels southern border seeking work and asylum.

The latest amendment comes in response to a Supreme Court ruling in September that found Holot to be unconstitutional. Instead of closing it completely, Knesset members proposed that individual prison terms be limited to 20 months, and that prisoner check-ins be cut from three times per day to once each night.

After the final tally on the night of Dec. 8, the bill passed 41 to 29.

Members of the 19th Knesset, known for their high-drama plenum battles, used the vote to stage a final showdown of ideals.

[We must] keep this country as the nation-state of the Jewish people and not invite a situation in which thousands of infiltrators come here to find work, said right-wing Knesset member Miri Regev, a member of the prime ministers Likud Party. Its a disgrace that parties who call themselves Zionist, like the Labor Party, opposed this bill.

Knesset member Nitzan Horowitz, a former TV reporter belonging to the leftist Meretz Party, fired back. Its too bad Regev and the interior minister didnt read the High Courts first verdict overturning the law, he said. They would have understood that in a democratic state, it is impossible to imprison people without a trial. It doesnt matter whether theyre Blacks from Africa, blonds from Sweden or people from Tel Aviv or Yeruham.

The goal of the new legislation, as stated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when it was drafted on Nov. 30, is to continue driving undocumented Africans out of Israel.

It fits the reality, Netanyahu said of the law. It also fits the rulings of the High Court of Justice. I remind you that Israel has achieved the extraordinary, which Im very proud of, in blocking illegal migration across our borders zero illegal migrants. Part of this entails repatriating illegal migrants. This year we repatriated over 6,000 illegal migrants. This legislation is designed to enable us to continue this trend.

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19th Knessets dying wish: Drive Africans from Israel