Here are two extremes, neither of which is valid, and neither of which will extricate Israel from her current, unexpected and growing problem with illegal immigrants.
Extreme number one: Israel, of all nations, should understand that we extend a hand to the hopeless. Countries turned away the Jews during the Holocaust, and in no small measure, that is why Israel was founded. Never shall we imitate our cruel enemies of that time!
Extreme number two: Israel is being overrun with illegal black African immigrants who are changing the Jewish character of Israel. They are ruining the country, bringing disease and crime. Therefore, we must deport all of these immigrants forthwith; and must not allow a single additional one to come.
The reason the first extreme is invalid is because Israel is a Jewish state. It was founded to give the Jewish people a refuge, as well as cultural and religious autonomy. It was not founded to be a refuge for others. An occasional hard luck case such as the Vietnamese boat people that Israel took in decades ago is one thing. A systematic welcome to a persecuted peoples everywhere is entirely something else. It would end the Jewish state.
Needless to say, Israels unwise, unjustified, being-so-open-minded-that-your-brains-fall-out policy of welcoming non-Jewish Ethiopian immigrants does not make it any easier to reject other African immigrants.
It is entirely reasonable for Israel to close its borders to further immigration from Africa, which, it is relevant to note, is undertaken with no pretense at legality. It is critical to stop the immigration now because, before you know it, many of these Africans will claim rights to reside in Israel on the grounds of family reunification. (That is exactly the manipulative rationale put forward by advocates of Ethiopian gentile immigration to Israel.)
It should not be necessary to say, but it is: Israel is the least racist society in the world. Virtually very imaginable ethnic type, skin color and racial and national background from all seven continents of the earth mix in virtually every Israeli city every day. It is not racist, and not a denial of lessons of the Holocaust, to keep Israel Jewish.
The reason the second extreme is invalid is twofold:
(a) to attribute disease and crime to African immigrants, even if verifiable, is no different from acknowledging the same about other immigrants group who are Jewish;
(b) to stop the illegal immigration is one thing; to deport those already in Israel is another. This must be handled with sensitivity and due regard for individual circumstances. Israel allowed Israelis to employ these illegal immigrants. Israel will now have to legalize them and welcome them and make sure this whole scenario does not repeat itself.
Copyright © 2010 by the Intermountain Jewish News
