Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By simmons on September 13, 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a call to host refugees from Syria and elsewhere, saying that while Israel is "not indifferent to the human tragedy of the refugees," it is not in a position to take them in.

Netanyahu was responding to Israeli liberals led by opposition leader Isaac Herzog, who said Jewish history demands that the nation show compassion. Having themselves felt the worlds silence, Herzog said, Jews cannot remain indifferent to the carnage in Syria and the refugees plight.

Herzogs comments met with support from other liberal lawmakers such as Zehava Galon, who called for opening Israels gates to a token number of refugees from its violence-stricken northern neighbor.

In responding to such statements, Netanyahu stressed Israels medical care for over 1,000 injured Syrians, as well as efforts to aid African nations and thus stem the flow of migrants. However, he said that Israels lack of demographic and geographic depth requires controlling its borders against both illegal migrants and terrorism.

His reference to demographics referred to oft-expressed concerns in Israel about the country's Jewish population being overwhelmed by non-Jews.

Israel's 6.2 million Jews make up nearly 75% of the country's population, with its Arab citizens comprising more than 20%. In addition, an estimated 4.6 million Palestinians live in occupied territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

NEWSLETTER:Get the day's top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

For many Israeli Jews, even the smallest number of additional non-Jews is a potential threat, and the Syrian refugee crisis and the debate about Israels role has reawakened the countrys most deep-seated fear -- that of losing the Jewish majority and subsequently the character of the Jewish state.

Even those in support of opening the gates to refugees say they mean 10,000 at the most, with some calling for a token action such as that taken by former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who in 1977 took in about 70 refugees from Vietnam.

Nachman Shai, a lawmaker from Herzogs party, was among those who were adamant that Israel had an obligation to do something. We will not be able to solve the refugee problem but we cannot plug our ears and look away, he said.

However, Immigrant Absorption Minister Zeev Elkin accused Herzog of gambling on Israels strategic interests for the sake of one minute of favor in international media. He also expressed the fear that the refugee crisis could give Palestinians an opening to bring the so-called right of return, which would allow Palestinians to return to land they occupied before the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, in through the back door.

Transportation Minister Israel Katz said it would be a mistake for Israel to get involved in the Syrian civil war by taking in refugees. We are too close, too involved. We are not a European country, he said.

Sobelman is a special correspondent.

MORE SYRIAN REFUGEES COVERAGE

Inside the train to Germany: Wonder, fatigue and, for a moment, fear

U.S. response to refugee crisis is nowhere near that of Europe

After standoff in Hungary, thousands of Syrians arrive in Austria

Read the original here:
One country that won't be taking Syrian refugees: Israel ...

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
Tags: