Galilee Diary: Echoes
June 6, 2012 
6 Comments
You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.
-Exodus 23:9
We fight world Jewry as one has to fight a poisonous parasite…
-German army manual, 1939
We will not allow illegal immigration to spread like a cancer in our society.
-Miri Regev, Knesset Member, at south Tel Aviv rally
Recently I finished a meeting at HUC at the end of the day and was offered a ride to Tel Aviv, thus shortening my trip on public transportation to the Galilee. I accepted, but it turned out that the driver didn’t know Tel Aviv streets so well, and we got lost in the alleys surrounding the Central Bus Station. At one point we rounded a corner and found ourselves surrounded by Border Patrol troops, and squad cars all a-flashing. As we proceeded we found ourselves driving between clusters of scared-looking African refugees on one side of the street, and angry Jews with megaphones on the other side. We were in the midst of one of a series of recent demonstrations by veteran Jewish residents of the poor neighborhood around the bus station, calling for the expulsion of the growing number of Eritrean and Sudanese refugees who have moved in (the next day it turned violent, a day of broken glass). This campaign was given a boost by a couple of recent high-profile crimes, some of which were apparently committed by refugees. (Israel lets the refugees who are caught stay in Tel Aviv, pending asylum proceedings, but to discourage more refugees from arriving, they are forbidden to work; hence the motivation to support themselves by illegal activities).
It is tempting to feel righteously indignant when confronting a public campaign that uses explicitly racist rhetoric, led by respectable leaders of mainstream political parties. We are appalled by the language and its historical echoes. But then, the demonstrators remind us, these miserable refugees are not exactly streaming into the middle class communities that are bastions of liberal self-righteousness. So driving down the street that day I sensed that there was enough misery and powerlessness to go around on both sides, and while I have no problem criticizing the demagogic exploitation of that misery, it seems clear that that exploitation is no party’s monopoly.
As long as the world is divided into poor and rich areas, oppressed and free states, there will be people trying to move to a better place. Whether on the Mexican border, or in rickety boats crossing the Mediterranean, or crawling across the Sudanese desert, the world is full of “huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” and those who have achieved (or inherited) prosperity and freedom feel threatened by this human wave. It is not rational to open all the gates, and it is not humane to keep them all closed. Devising a moral policy is a huge challenge that has vexed the western world for a century and more.
It is no easier here in Israel than it is in Texas or in Italy, and we seem to be no better at responding to this challenge than anyone else. When we had no state, it was easy to criticize the behavior of those peoples who had them, especially when they wouldn’t let us in (for which we continue to criticize them). Now that we have one, a little humility would be in order.
Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah
It is a problem, and not a small one, either – especially since they are not Jewish. However, Jews have been solving problems, not necessarily of our making, for thousands of years.
Perhaps there are state supported programs supporting the welfare of Israel that these people could work at for food and shelter, and what we used to call cigarette money. There is then less of an impetus for crime. At lease until a broader solution is reached. And the broader solution is not necessarily settlement in Israel.
Putting aside questions of economic disparities, there is a looming unresolveable dilemna when it come to ethnic/religious/racial integration within any nation. While the U.S. generally welcomes all with some historical success, I feel Israel can’t afford such a luxury. Germany has been wrestling with the same quandry.
America began as an Anglo-Saxon nation and even as a Jew here I would like to keep that socio-political tradition. At the same time, I have no difficulty accepting other infusions.
However, other smaller countries around the world have ties to their historical ethnic identities which should be considered legitimate. I’d like to see France maintain its berets and Bohemian artist tradition. I’d like to see Russia keep its vodka and borsht. I’d like to see Japan cherish its tea houses and Kabuki.
The Earth does not have to be one large “melting pot” with tee-shirts, bluejeans, rock-n-roll and MacDonalds for the wellbeing of all mankind. Israel has enough internal conflicts between ultra-Othodox vs. secular Judaism and Jews vs. Muslims that it shouldn’t have to deal with the quandry of disproportionate, uncontrolled and crime-ridden immigration.
Humility, yes, I agree, but I’m not sure I understand the Rabbi’s comments, “and while I have no problem criticizing the demagogic exploitation of that misery, it seems clear that that exploitation is no party’s monopoly.”
We have to do better. We are the light among nations. We have to set the example.
I know all about immigration. I’ve been in Miami 30 years and I understand all the challenges. But if I am not mistaken, some Israelis also have a problem with Ethiopian Jewry and do not accept them as as Jews. So I wonder with the Sudanese, how much of the issue has to do with Judaism. I don’t think there is the same feeling when the Russian Jews came into the country, but if I’m wrong about that, please correct me.
Israel, in overwhelming contrast to the U.S. and Canada as well as most of Latin America, is land-poor. It’s a tiny place. Anyone who keeps up with the news in Israel knows that housing for most Israelis is extremely expensive and scarce – that’s what the recent demonstrations were about. Africa is a huge land mass with plenty of empty space. These economic migrants can’t be compared in the least to Jews who were persecuted everywhere in Europe, both East and West, and in the Moslem world. The problems that drove these migrants from their home countries are best dealt with by UN intervention. It should be noted that the Egyptians, Yeminis, and Saudis are really cruel to migrants who want to work there. Israel is actually in bad economic shape. SOME people are doing very well, but most have to struggle with high prices. The mistake the Israeli government made with these migrants is the same that it made with Russian immigrants: absolutely no advanced planning. Thus, Jewish Agency shlichim in Russia gave visas to tens of thousands of Russians who were Jewish not by traditional Jewish standards but by the standards of the Nuremberg Laws. The result is the presence of a lot of criminal activity and social violence. Similarly, the government had and has no set procedures for dealing with illegal immigrants and that is what led to the current 50,000 non-natives who, it must be added, pose an economic burden (health care is one example; detention centers are another) that Israel is not in a position to carry. Finally, if the Israeli leaders had any brains, they would be publicly harping on the self-righteous, simple-minded, Israel-judging Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa to open up his own country, with its vast land mass, to these refugees. After all, it’s Tutu who clucks disapprovingly about Israel’s “mistreatment” of Palestinians.
I applaud the Rabbi’s comments. Are we incapable as Jews and people from creating sensible and respectful policies for welcoming the stranger? Or do the bullies, zealots, xenophobes, and criminals always rule the day? I find it troublesome that we are not yet clever enough to counter those regressive forces.
I would like to hear more about Israel’s immigration policies and how new immigrants could become so disenfranchised so quickly instead of assimilated.
You wouldn’t have to ask those questions if you took the time to read the Jerusalem Post (free, on-line) on a regular basis, and it would help to spend a month in Israel, on your own. As to the pseudo-righteous flag waving “do the bullies, zealots, xenophobes, and criminals always rule the day?”: if you had taken the trouble to get acquainted with the real Israel, you’d know that it, like all countries, unfortunately has a thuggish underclass, attributable in part to their ancestral homelands and in part to the jettison of morality as part of the rebellion against religious practices. You’d also know that it’s far safer statistically to walk the streets of any city or town in Israel than in most cities in the U.S. and Europe. Finally, to say “I would like to hear more about Israel’s immigration policies and how new immigrants could become so disenfranchised so quickly instead of assimilate” makes me absolutely postive that the writer is trying to needle supporters of Israel. In other words, the writer’s whole post reeks of insincerity.