A proposed amendment to the law on preventing illegal entry into israel calls for limiting confinement to the Holot Detention Center in the Negev for two years. Ilene looks at the big picture of immigration policy in israel, starting with our forefather, Abraham.

 

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3 comments on “ILENE IN: On wandering in the desert

  1. Noam Ahituv says:

    it seems to me that you are very critical of israel’s policies
    it seems to me that you blame israel for some sortbof racism against workers from africa, and you say that as children of abraham, we should open israel’s borders to anyone in the world who wants to come in.
    you probably dont apply the same high moral standards to the US, europe, or any other country in the world.
    your attitude is SICK

    1. Ayla Adler says:

      actually, Noam, the countries you mention–and in fact all democracies in the world–have Refugee Status Determination policies by which asylum-seekers can seek due process from those countries in connection with the UNHRC. Israel has no such policy except for Jews, which is simply undemocratic. That we’re a country founded explicitly to give refuge to a People who were denied refuge when we needed it brings in many other moral questions for us to ask ourselves as Jews, and I personally wouldn’t mind being held to a higher moral standard, but as it stands, we are held to a much lower one (if we are to call ourselves a ‘democracy’).

      1. Noam Ahituv says:

        “if we call ourselves a democracy” – shows the whole point. by which standard are we not a democracy? do we not have open elections? we ARE a democracy like any other democracy. why question that? its disgusting
        as for refugee status – none of the people who are “refugees” in israel is a refugee, because none of them come from countries which border israel. if someone escapes sudan – he can be a refugee in bordering egypt, but if he continues to israel, because israel has better income, he’s not a refugee in israel, and israel doesn’t need to give him refuge according to international law.
        you may not mind holding israel to a higher standard than the rest of the world, but i find it disgusting, and yes, antisemitic.

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