| Israel is a safe haven for Jews in distress. Just look at main sources of immigrants over the years: post-WW2 Europe, then Arab countries, then Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, Argentina, Ethiopia, South Africa, former Soviet Union again. And vast majority had no option of going anywhere else. I suspect that most Jews under duress who want to immigrate to Israel and are free to do so have done it already. But who knows where the next flashpoint will be? And the Jews who feel secure outside of Israel? Most will stay put. But Israel remains an option, one of many. That is called freedom, we are not free to move to Belgium or Saudi Arabia, but we are free to move to Israel. Although, I don't know, Israel's population density already is higher than that of any European state other than Holland and Belgium, probably much higher still if you exclude uninhabitable areas. And calling Law of Return racist is ridiculous. Using your nomenclature every country’s immigration laws are racist since they are all restrictive. And many grant automatic citizenship based on a membership in a certain group – we already talked about Germany and US. And what if you don’t belong to the favored group? Well, tough luck – but there always are alternate ways to apply for citizenship. Even more ironic is your criticism of ultra-orthodox. First you complain that Law of Return allows too many Jews into Israel, and then you cry foul when ultra-orthodox want to restrict it. Which is it that you want? My vote is to make it as expansive as possible. |
