You Won’t Read This on the Social-Left Sites
The JTA reports,
An Egyptian policeman was shot dead while trying to stop African migrants from slipping into Israel from the Sinai desert.
An Egyptian patrol intercepted a group of eight migrants in the Sinai on Monday, but came under fire from masked gunmen escorting the group toward the Israeli border, Cairo authorities said.
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Those Egyptian border guards are usually the ones shooting at the refugees once they’re caught. It;s reported to have happened several times at least that I know of. Whoever was a escorting them was probably in a “kill or be killed” kind of situation. I’m not saying that this (probably) innocent border guard should have been shot, but it’s more complicated than you’re making it out to be, DK.
Halfsours, when you are an Israeli citizen, you will have every right to demand that Israel accept every “refugee” on earth.
But American Jews need to stop telling Israel to be the DP camp for Africa.
I never suggested that. Those aren’t my politics.
The signatories of the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and 1957 are obliged to accept as refugees any person with a well founded fear of persecution by reason of nationality. Israel (as well as the USA and Egypt) are signatories.
The social left argument would be that the fact that the refugees shot at the Egyptian police may suggest that they have a well founded fear of being persecuted by the Egyptian authorities by reason of their nationality and that accordingly Israel must allow them refuge from Egypt. Of course they may have shot at the Egyptian police because they would rather have refugee status in Israel than Egypt in which case they are common criminals and economic migrants.
The social left will say that if one cannot determine with certainty which reason is correct, the benefit of the doubt should be given to the Africans.
Why should American Jews interfere in Israel’s refugee problems?
Liberal Americans Jews believe that they have a proprietary interest in the Convention believing it was ‘gifted to the World’ through Jewish suffering in the Holocaust. To imagine that they will not demand Jews (of all people) act in accordance with their outlook is wishful thinking. Indeed it is hard to imagine any liberal democracy withdrawing from the convention as a means to demand its amendment to reflect the current world situation. Can you for one minute imagine the outcry if Israel was the first state to withdraw from that convention?
Can you for one minute imagine the outcry if Israel was the first state to withdraw from that convention?
Good point. Did not realize that.
Reb Leibish,
I understand from a source at the U.N. that the document in question refers only to refugee nationals of the neighboring country from whence ( heh, “whence”) they come. So while Egypt has a legal obligation to accept refugees from the Sudan, Israel does not. That is why this is a hugely complicated issue that neither the left nor right has a firm grip on. In my opinion, it basically comes down to the question of decency versus pragmatism, with compelling arguments on both sides.
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