Jewish Need to Do Good Missapplied

By Eitan Divinsky, Jerusalem, Israel, 6/25/2012:

I've been having a discussion with a friend of mine (this guy was one of the first to befriend me when I was having a hard time getting adjusted to life in America and happens to be a rabbi whom I respect and admire) regarding the illegal aliens living in Southern Tel-Aviv, Ashkelon, and Eilat. As a background to what I'm about to say, the aliens, most of whom come from Sudan and Erethria, have been involved in countless thefts, a few cases of rape and one or two murders.

Their culture of laziness, squalor, and violence has accompanied them to Israel. While they owe a dept of gratitude to Israel--the only country willing to accept them, they've paid us back with crime and disregard for our rights. With perhaps a few exceptions, they know nothing of Jewish culture and are not willing to learn.

How do I know--or claim to know this? Well, to begin with, I went to Southern Tel-Aviv with Yeshivat Ha'mivtar. We took a tour of the neighborhood with the head of the "Secular Yeshiva," an interesting idea in its own right. He told us how the Israeli government is planning on sending them "home," how in his eyes, this is "unjust" because not only will we "take in a new wave of immigrants who will have to once again pay us to come" but also because "they provide all the manual labor that local Israelis aren't willing to do."

Fair enough, but is this really the case? Is the Secular Yeshiva head and local media not telling us a part of the story? Well, they really aren't when you consider some of the recent headlines: a gruesome gang-rape and murder of a Jewish girl by a pack of "immigrants," and more violence every day.

So my question is: does quoting individual parts of Tanach, Gemara, and other sources that stress our need to "welcome the stranger because you were (once) strangers in Egypt" necessitate us to welcome refugees--whether Jewish or not from every corner of the world, be it Russia, North Africa, or "Palestine"? Why must the tiny Jewish nation carry this seemingly unnecessary burden on its shoulders? Have we heaped too much; so much so that we can't carry it anymore on ourselves?

The answers I have in mind are obvious for anyone who's read my previous articles or knows my positions vis-a-vis the North African "refugees." Fact is, a large majority of these "refugees" weren't "running away" from anywhere. They're here simply because they want to make a living. But how are they making this "living"? Is their "living" coming at the expense of the Jewish citizens of Southern Tel-Aviv? Once again, I'm asking rhetorical questions in order to propel your instict to question the standard. And this "standard" has been set. By media outlets such as Ha'aretz and the Huffington Post.

In summary, the illegal aliens occupying (and I believe they are occupiers so long as they're here) need to be provided safe-passage home. So long as they're not in Israel, I'm ready to love them, even donate the money I don't have to them. The Israeli government is doing the right thing by sending them home. It's doing so compassionately, providing the aliens with the dignity and respect any human being deserves. As far as your donations, send these to any number of Jewish Zionist causes. You're to sure to find one--even if you don't look for it.