Israel’s High Court of Justice struck down parts of a 2016 law confiscating social welfare benefits from foreign workers who overstayed their visas. The court ruled that these regulations were disproportionate to the crime and violated constitutional property law.
Writing for the 6-1 majority, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut wrote that the state “did not present a single example of a country where migrant workers may lose their pension funds if they leave the country late.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin protested the decision, saying that it reflects “extreme progressive values.” He argued that the ruling would encourage tens of thousands of foreign workers to violate their visa terms and stay in the country.
“If anyone had any doubt why profound reform is needed in the justice system, they got their answer again in another ruling encouraging illegal immigration to Israel, which harms its demographic composition and Jewish identity,” Levin said in a statement.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir joined Levin’s opposition to the ruling, stating that the ruling “is the exact proof of why we are fighting with all our might to pass the legal reform, the sooner the better.”
The Worker’s Hotline and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel responded that foreign workers “are entitled, like any other employee, to the benefits they earn at work.”