I guess one man’s illegal immigrant is another man’s refugee.
I’m posting this article about Christian Solidarity Worldwide blasting the Israeli government over a bill passed recently that would restrict access to Israel of many immigrants streaming through the Sinai because for me it poses a problem—how do you separate illegal alien economic migrants from legitimate refugees? And, what happens to a country that says—borders are open, come one and all!
Interestingly the bill goes one step further and includes punishment for any Israeli helping illegal immigrants/refugees get into Israel. (Something to consider here in the US!)
I don’t know this group—Christian Solidarity Worldwide— but when the words “solidarity” and “justice” are mentioned I immediately think religious Left political activists are involved. Perhaps I’m jumping to conclusions about that, but if you know anything about them, please comment.
Here is the story:
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights group, says that it is concerned that the desperate plight of refugees and asylum seekers in the Sinai will be exacerbated by the passage of the Illegal Migrants Bill in the Knesset last week, which allows for the arrest and imprisonment of any crossing into Israel.
[….]
The majority of those who would fall foul of the proposed Israeli legislation are from sub Saharan Africa and are fleeing brutal regimes, such as those in Eritrea and Sudan.”
[….]
According to the terms of the Illegal Migrants Bill, refugees can be imprisoned without trial for up to three years, or deported back to their country of origin or a third country. Not only does the bill effectively criminalize genuine refugees, it also carries a prison sentence of between five and 15 years for Israelis who assist them in any way. Prior to the passage of the bill, refugees were subjected either to a “Hot Return” border policy or imprisonment on arrival and subsequent legal limbo, due to the absence of a system of refugee status determination (RSD) in Israel that meets international standards. The Illegal Migrants Bill will further curtail the limited protection and assistance available to them from the state or from concerned individuals and humanitarian NGOs.
Shouldn’t the UN just run a camp on the border, gather all the migrants and sort them out?
In defense of Israel, at what point does a country literally die when its population is completely impoverished trying to care for the massive flow out of Africa. With no cultural or historic glue to hold all these people together, what happens to Israel? Indeed, what will happen to the US eventually?
