A couple years ago, I was talking with a fellow student about Al-Jazeera News Network's plan to branch out into the Americas. The student, a Jew, saw the news of Al-Jazeera’s expansion as part of a major trend where people from the Islamic world are migrating to the West and bringing their ideas with them, including anti-Semitism.
I did not wish to get into an argument about anti-Semitism, so I broadened the scope of the discussion and mentioned Islam's surge into Europe, which is threatening to change the social and political landscape there forever. He agreed.
As the conversation continued, I got the impression that he was fully aware of the power of identity politics - in this case, Islam - and the potential for mass migration to be the harbinger of a clash of cultures. The student then told me about immigration to Israel (something I knew little about at the time) and the threat that internationalization posed to the survival of the Jews as a cohesive people, defined as a people who observe the Jewish faith or customs and have Jewish ancestry. I quickly realized how controversial his ideas would have been if only he were talking about a different ethnic group with what same set of interests. Imagine that, tomorrow, France restricts immigration to ensure the survival of the Catholic faith and to keep out those who do not have a Catholic background. This is not to say that the student was wrong to feel the way he did; he wanted to preserve his community, culture and way of life from destruction...what was wrong with that?
Well, it appears that my former classmate does not have to worry, because Israel is slamming the door shut on all immigrants who are not of direct Jewish ancestry. Curiously, not a single media source in America picked up the story. In fact, I would not have even known about the new policy in Israel had it not been for a single editorial in the Jerusalem Post, which tends to support secularism and is likely infuriated by the news:
I did not wish to get into an argument about anti-Semitism, so I broadened the scope of the discussion and mentioned Islam's surge into Europe, which is threatening to change the social and political landscape there forever. He agreed.
As the conversation continued, I got the impression that he was fully aware of the power of identity politics - in this case, Islam - and the potential for mass migration to be the harbinger of a clash of cultures. The student then told me about immigration to Israel (something I knew little about at the time) and the threat that internationalization posed to the survival of the Jews as a cohesive people, defined as a people who observe the Jewish faith or customs and have Jewish ancestry. I quickly realized how controversial his ideas would have been if only he were talking about a different ethnic group with what same set of interests. Imagine that, tomorrow, France restricts immigration to ensure the survival of the Catholic faith and to keep out those who do not have a Catholic background. This is not to say that the student was wrong to feel the way he did; he wanted to preserve his community, culture and way of life from destruction...what was wrong with that?
Well, it appears that my former classmate does not have to worry, because Israel is slamming the door shut on all immigrants who are not of direct Jewish ancestry. Curiously, not a single media source in America picked up the story. In fact, I would not have even known about the new policy in Israel had it not been for a single editorial in the Jerusalem Post, which tends to support secularism and is likely infuriated by the news:
- excerpt from "Minister Sheetrit: Let our people into the Promised Land" by Michael Freund, The Jerusalem Post:
At the instigation of Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, the government adopted a shameful decision aimed at slamming the door shut on groups of people who want to be Jewish and come to Israel. According to the cabinet communiqué, it was decided that the Interior Ministry "would issue entry visas for groups regarding conversion and the acquisition of citizenship only with government approval and in accordance with special criteria." But behind that rather innocuous sounding language lies a far more sinister objective, which is Sheetrit's stated determination to prevent groups with historical ties to the Jewish people from returning to Judaism and moving to Israel. (more)
