The Supreme Court issued an interim order today preventing the Interior Ministry from deporting eight Black Hebrews, as ordered yesterday by Minister Yosef Burg. The court accepted the argument of the Blacks’ attorney Ben Menashe, that they had come to Israel as sons returning to their motherland and intended to stay here permanently. The court gave the Blacks three days to ask the Ministry for recognition as new immigrants, but it was learned that the applications were filed immediately today.
The interim order insures that the eight Blacks cannot be deported for at least 15 days. The eight, in prison up to today, are a family consisting of mother, father, five children and a male relative. They were arrested while attempting to establish a home in a refugee camp near Jericho. Twelve other Black Hebrews, now living in Dimona, were scheduled to be given deportation orders today; they are a mother and three children, a father and daughter, and six unattached adults whose tourist visas expired three weeks ago. All 20 Blacks are American nationals.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.