09-06-2015, 12:55 PM
The Syrian refugee crisis is also a political hot potato in Israel.
Israel shares a border with Syria. But, it has not taken in any Syrian refugees, despite calls from some in the Israeli government and the general population.
![[Image: Isaac-Herzogj.jpg]](http://leftfootforward.org/images/2014/02/Isaac-Herzogj.jpg)
^ Israeli Zionist Union head & opposition leader Isaac Herzog:
Israel is duty bound to absorb refugees from the civil war in Syria, Herzog said Saturday, speaking at a cultural event in Tel Aviv. “I spoke with the head of the Syrian opposition [in Europe], Kamel Labwani. It is incumbent on Israel to take in refugees from the war and push for the establishment of an urgent international conference on the issue,” the Zionist Union chairman said. “Jews cannot be apathetic when hundreds of thousands of refugees are searching for safe haven,” he said, referring to the plight of Europe’s Jews in the run-up to the Holocaust.
![[Image: Elazar-Stern.jpg]](http://www.afyba.org/E-news/E-newsV2issue9_05-10/Elazar-Stern.jpg)
^ Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern:
Stern called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take in a limited number of Syrians fleeing the fighting, urging him on Thursday “to save them, but also as a message to our own children.” “I call on you to do what [former Likud prime minister Menachem] Begin did and invite to Israel a limited number of Syrian refugees,” he said, referring to Begin’s decision to grant citizenship to 66 so-called Vietnamese boat people who were fleeing the communist regime at home. “I think that the State of Israel, because of the lessons of the Holocaust and the compliance of the world, cannot remain indifferent. I call on members of the Knesset, the public and rabbis to join me in this call. I believe that Diaspora Jews would also appreciate such a move,” Stern said.
![[Image: benjamin-netanyahu-data.jpg]](http://www.abc.net.au/cm/lb/6330362/data/benjamin-netanyahu-data.jpg)
^ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, discounted such pleas from Israeli leaders and citizens by saying, “Israel is a small, a very small country that lacks demographic and geographic depth.”
Instead, at his weekly cabinet meeting today, the Israeli leader announced that construction had started on a fence along the country’s eastern border with Jordan — a possible pathway for war-weary Syrians to reach Israel but also a way for extremists from groups such as the Islamic State to infiltrate the Jewish state.
“We will not allow Israel to be flooded with illegal migrants and terrorists,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
(HOTD: Well, Israel can build the fence and I can see the need there, but that doesn't mean they can't also take in some refugees.)
Refs:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/herzog-isra...-refugees/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worl...u-says-no/
Israel shares a border with Syria. But, it has not taken in any Syrian refugees, despite calls from some in the Israeli government and the general population.
^ Israeli Zionist Union head & opposition leader Isaac Herzog:
Israel is duty bound to absorb refugees from the civil war in Syria, Herzog said Saturday, speaking at a cultural event in Tel Aviv. “I spoke with the head of the Syrian opposition [in Europe], Kamel Labwani. It is incumbent on Israel to take in refugees from the war and push for the establishment of an urgent international conference on the issue,” the Zionist Union chairman said. “Jews cannot be apathetic when hundreds of thousands of refugees are searching for safe haven,” he said, referring to the plight of Europe’s Jews in the run-up to the Holocaust.
^ Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern:
Stern called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take in a limited number of Syrians fleeing the fighting, urging him on Thursday “to save them, but also as a message to our own children.” “I call on you to do what [former Likud prime minister Menachem] Begin did and invite to Israel a limited number of Syrian refugees,” he said, referring to Begin’s decision to grant citizenship to 66 so-called Vietnamese boat people who were fleeing the communist regime at home. “I think that the State of Israel, because of the lessons of the Holocaust and the compliance of the world, cannot remain indifferent. I call on members of the Knesset, the public and rabbis to join me in this call. I believe that Diaspora Jews would also appreciate such a move,” Stern said.
^ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, discounted such pleas from Israeli leaders and citizens by saying, “Israel is a small, a very small country that lacks demographic and geographic depth.”
Instead, at his weekly cabinet meeting today, the Israeli leader announced that construction had started on a fence along the country’s eastern border with Jordan — a possible pathway for war-weary Syrians to reach Israel but also a way for extremists from groups such as the Islamic State to infiltrate the Jewish state.
“We will not allow Israel to be flooded with illegal migrants and terrorists,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
(HOTD: Well, Israel can build the fence and I can see the need there, but that doesn't mean they can't also take in some refugees.)
Refs:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/herzog-isra...-refugees/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worl...u-says-no/