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Why it’s a mistake to say treatment of asylum seekers runs against Jewish values

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Published: 15 February 2018

Last updated: 4 March 2024

PETER BEINART
LAST WEEK, ISABEL KERSHNER, The New York Times’ estimable Israel correspondent, wrote an article about the Netanyahu government’s decision to either expel Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers to third countries or indefinitely lock them up. The article ran under the headline, Israel Moves to Expel Africans. Critics Say That’s Not Jewish.

“Like much of the Western world, Israel is grappling with how to balance its right to protect its borders and prevent illegal immigration with showing compassion and humanity,” writes Kershner. “But the government’s decision has struck a particular chord here and among Jews abroad since the modern state of Israel has served as a safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution.”

Kershner goes on to say that many Jews believe the government’s decision violates “Jewish values.” She suggests that “Even secular Israelis have taken to citing biblical verses like Leviticus 19:34: ‘The stranger who resides among you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt’.”

There’s a danger here. It’s understandable that Jews would employ Jewish texts and Jewish tradition to critique the policies of a Jewish state. I do so myself. But the subtext of Kershner’s article is that Jews, because of our ethical tradition and history of persecution, are holding ourselves to a uniquely high standard: That while many countries are “grappling” with “illegal immigration,” in Israel — because Jews have an elevated moral sense — the government’s policy of expulsion and imprisonment “has struck a particular chord.”

Liberal Jews may find this flattering. But it’s a trap. It allows hawkish Jews to insist that Israel, living as it does in a dangerous neighbourhood, cannot afford to be uniquely moral. Indeed, for more than a decade now, prominent figures in Israel and the Diaspora have claimed that holding Israel to a standard higher than other nations — a “double standard” constitutes anti-Semitism.

FULL STORY You don’t need Jewish values to denounce Israel’s treatment of asylum seekers (Forward)

AND SEE

Habonim Dror Australia statement regarding the refugee crisis in Israel
Habonim Dror Australia believes that Israel is not just a nation for Jews, but rather a nation characterised by its Jewish values. Less than 1% of their refugee claims have been recognised by Israel, giving Israel the lowest rate of refugee recognition in the Western World.

We urge Israel to reconsider what it means to be a Jewish state, what it means to believe in Shivyon Erech Ha'Adam (equality of human value), Pikuach Nefesh (preservation of human life over borders and rules), and Tikkun Olam (healing the world).

We want Israel to #letushelp in creating the Israel we envisage.

Photo: Eetta Prince-Gibson

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