[Chi019]

Binyamin Netanyahu is a smart guy with degrees from MIT. Other politicians in Asia and Western countries could learn from his no-nonsense attitude to putting his citizens first. Would be great to hear more politicians following his example.

The Israeli prime minister has stoked a volatile debate about refugees and migrant workers from Africa, warning that "illegal infiltrators flooding the country" were threatening the security and identity of the Jewish state.

"If we don't stop their entry, the problem that currently stands at 60,000 could grow to 600,000, and that threatens our existence as a Jewish and democratic state," Binyamin Netanyahu said at Sunday's cabinet meeting. "This phenomenon is very grave and threatens the social fabric of society, our national security and our national identity." Israel's population is 7.8 million.

Yohanan Danino, the Israeli police chief, said migrants should be permitted to work to discourage petty crime. Nearly all are unable to work legally, and live in overcrowded and impoverished conditions. "The community needs to be supported in order to prevent economic and social problems," said Rosenfeld.

But the interior minister, Eli Yishai, rejected such a move, saying: "Why should we provide them with jobs? I'm sick of the bleeding hearts, including politicians. Jobs would settle them here, they'll make babies, and that offer will only result in hundreds of thousands more coming over here."

Israel PM: illegal African immigrants threaten identity of Jewish state | World news | The Guardian

[Ano1]

Racist!

[JCC-MGS]

(Original post by Ano1)
Racist!

Essentially. There is a supreme irony in Israel bemoaning illegal settlers looking for a better life on 'their' land, particularly when 60k Africans amounts to less than 1% of their population. If Israeli immigration policy was fairer then such a small level of immigration wouldn't be an issue. This isn't the first time the interior minister has been trying to influence policy with what essentially amounts to cruel xenophobia.

[AntisthenesDogger]

Oh the irony. Doubtless many of the African refugees are escaping circumstances comparative to ethnic cleansing or crimes against gender, nice to see despite their sufferance and ergo reasoning for a "Jewish" state they can't sympathize with other refugees.

[Triq6]

I am not very well versed with the Israel-Palestinian conflict but wasn't Israel created by ousting Palestinians from their land? So they have the right to kick other people out from other countries and when a few Africans just want to come and stay in their country they go bonkers? Am I missing something?

[Dhaal_Chawal]

The biggest demographic threat to Israel is their own Ultra Orthodox Jewish population.

[R.P.Everything.]

To say that immigrants are a drain on social welfare, or causing overpopulation, okay, I can see a sensible debate behind that. But to say that they are threatening the security and identity of the Jewish state? Well that seems to verge on racism to me - people can't live in Israel because their identity isn't Jewish?

[Subology]

To say that immigrants are a drain on social welfare, or causing overpopulation, okay, I can see a sensible debate behind that. But to say that they are threatening the security and identity of the Jewish state? Well that seems to verge on racism to me - people can't live in Israel because their identity isn't Jewish?

I completely agree. Also, statements like this from Netanyahu, are completely incongruent with his other statements about nonjewish Israelis treated as equal citizen's within Israel.

The biggest demographic threat to Israel is their own Ultra Orthodox Jewish population.

The ultra Orthodox population seem to be Netanyahu's main supporters.

[anarchism101]

(Original post by R.P.Everything.)
Well that seems to verge on racism to me - people can't live in Israel because their identity isn't Jewish?

It's not verging on racism, it is racism. MPs have talked about wanting to restrict immigration for a whole range of reasons, but can you imagine one standing up in the HoC and saying that they opposed immigration because they were 'threatening our demographics as a white state.'? They'd be called a racist and rightly so.

[Brandmon]

Israel's behaviour lately is so atrociously appalling that it is remarkably reminiscent of certain Fascist attitudes during the inter-war years. Israel as a democratic state is clearly the lesser of two evils when compared to some of its rivals, yet it is rapidly closing the gap and quickly becoming indistinguishable from the Arab neighbours that tried to annihilate it in the past. Ironic how much Nietzsche's quote "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster." is starting to ring true.

[Patriot Rich]

Come on, don't bash Israel for absolutely everything when you don't know all the details.
Israel have already let in massive numbers of refugees over the years, without any Jewish link at all, for example there are Kosovar and Kurdish communities. Israel doesn't have a responsibility to take in massive numbers more. It's a very densely populated country as it is and growing at almost 2% per year, with much of the South uninhabitable desert. Plus given it's vulnerable position it needs to be able to produce a lot of it's own food which it can't do if even more of the Coastal Strip is built over.
I'm not particularly pro-Israel or Palestine, it's just important to get a bit of context. You're also assuming that all these migrants are genuine asylum seekers, which is unlikely, not to mention the fact that there's plenty of other safe countries they would have travelled through to reach Israel.

[anarchism101]

(Original post by Patriot Rich)
Come on, don't bash Israel for absolutely everything when you don't know all the details.
Israel have already let in massive numbers of refugees over the years, without any Jewish link at all, for example there are Kosovar and Kurdish communities. Israel doesn't have a responsibility to take in massive numbers more. It's a very densely populated country as it is and growing at almost 2% per year, with much of the South uninhabitable desert. Plus given it's vulnerable position it needs to be able to produce a lot of it's own food which it can't do if even more of the Coastal Strip is built over.
I'm not particularly pro-Israel or Palestine, it's just important to get a bit of context. You're also assuming that all these migrants are genuine asylum seekers, which is unlikely, not to mention the fact that there's plenty of other safe countries they would have travelled through to reach Israel.

Except that Netanyahu's reason for opposing these immigrants is not that they're not genuine asylum seekers, or that immigration is putting a strain on services. His reason is that they're not Jewish.

[MagicNMedicine]

(Original post by Chi019)
Binyamin Netanyahu is a smart guy with degrees from MIT.

lol you can tell this is TSR. Where else would you have to start an argument by listing the university that someone went to as support for your argument?

Wait till all the Labourites start prefixing their arguments with "Ed Miliband/Ed Balls has a degree from Oxford and he says...", everyone on TSR will suddenly stand up and take notice.

[Notethis]

(Original post by anarchism101)
His reason is that they're not Jewish.

And why exactly is that a bad reason?

[Rhadamanthus]

(Original post by anarchism101)
It's not verging on racism, it is racism. MPs have talked about wanting to restrict immigration for a whole range of reasons, but can you imagine one standing up in the HoC and saying that they opposed immigration because they were 'threatening our demographics as a white state.'? They'd be called a racist and rightly so.

Yes, but you can very well imagine that an MP may stand up and say that immigrants are 'threatening our demographics as a British state', can't you? Israel is not Jewish in the sense that Britain is white, it is Jewish in the sense that France is French - to deny so is to deny the existence of the millions of Mizrahim and Sephardim in Israel.

Edit: Don't take this as an implicit support of Netanyahu's remarks on my behalf; I'm just as appalled as you are. Although it is interesting to note that the African minority of less than 1% seems to attract a lot more hatred than the Arab minority of just under 20%. Not too sure why that is.

[Patriot Rich]

(Original post by anarchism101)
Except that Netanyahu's reason for opposing these immigrants is not that they're not genuine asylum seekers, or that immigration is putting a strain on services. His reason is that they're not Jewish.

Ok, here's the best answer I can offer.
Many countries offer citizenship based upon ancestry. For example I'm eligible for Irish citizenship because I have an Irish grandparent, despite the fact I've only been to the country once in my life.

Pretty much the entire of Europe's Jewish population, and from there the population in the Americas too, originates from the diaspora which occurred following the absurdly bloody Jewish Wars against the Romans. Over a million people dead in a time when the Roman Empire's total population was 88 million, including the entire Greco-Roman population of Cyprus so I'm not suggesting the Jews were innocent in this either.

As a result Judea was left almost completely depopulated, with the survivors fleeing across Europe to places like Spain, from which they were again expelled and at this point many settled in Poland, until of course Hitler showed up.

Israel makes no distinction between Jewish and Israeli nationality since almost all Jews descend from the original diaspora from Roman Judea, partly since there are so few Jewish converts so the line is fairly direct. It might seem racist but arguably it's no different to any county which grants citizenship based upon ancestry. In the specific case of the asylum seekers I'd suggest a country has more responsibility to take in it's own nationals, which all Jews are in the case of Israel, over other claimants.


To summarise as simply as possible: all Jews are essentially Israeli nationals through the Law of Return so it is Israel's duty to look out for them. However there is no suggestion that Israel would not react equally to any threats to it's non Jewish nationals.

[NoraHTunis]

Netanyahu an example for David Cameron?
That man is not an example for even a whore in a brothel.
Any man who sits back whilst his people take land that is not rightfully theirs is Disgusting.

[Subology]

(Original post by NoraHTunis)
Netanyahu an example for David Cameron?
That man is not an example for even a whore in a brothel.
Any man who sits back whilst his people take land that is not rightfully theirs is Disgusting.

Netanyahu is unapologetic about it, off course. The "jewish people" only have one state, whilst Arabs have dozen's. Would anyone miss one less Arab state? This is the extent of his logic, and I've heard him express himself in terms equally as crude.

[NoraHTunis]

(Original post by Subology)
Netanyahu is unapologetic about it, off course. The "jewish people" only have one state, whilst Arabs have dozen's. Would anyone miss one less Arab state? This is the extent of his logic, and I've heard him express himself in terms equally as crude.

I have to correct you there. I believe you said "extent of his logic"?
I have it on good authority the man has none at all.

[Subology]

(Original post by NoraHTunis)
I have to correct you there. I believe you said "extent of his logic"?
I have it on good authority the man has none at all.

haha

I don't know though. He's a smart guy: Bi-lingual, highly qualified, he has an insanely high IQ. This is what's so startling; how can someone so well educated be so, I don't know: savage. It just goes to show that no matter how well educated you are, if your a bigot your a bigot.