Israel Needs To Re-discover It's Compassion And Respect For Refugees Fleeing Genocide

My father was a refugee from genocide. He came to this country in 1940 when he was seventeen, having fled Antwerp, Belgium in an overloaded wooden boat with his mother, father and brother and one suitcase. They reached the last British freighter just before they pulled anchor, as the Nazi Luftwaffe’s blitzkrieg raged in the distance. Aside from two distant cousins who later settled in Israel, he never saw any of his relatives again. So, it especially pained me to read today that Israel is now turning away refuges fleeing the genocide in Darfur coming across the border from Egypt, despite the fact that more than 200,000 have died. Eytan Schwartz, an advocate for Darfur refugees in Israel, objected saying . . .

''The state of Israel has to show compassion for refugees after the Jewish people was subject to persecution throughout its history.'' But Ephraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said . . ''Israel can't throw open the gates and allow unlimited access for people who are basically economic refugees. Their arrival in Israel was motivated primarily by the difficult living conditions and bleak economic prospects in that country."

Excuse me Mr. Zuroff if I take great offense at your fallacious and heartless statement. Motivated by “difficult living conditions and bleak economic prospects?” Is that how Israel now defines fleeing genocide? Look into that man's eyes behind bars and try to imagine what those eyes have seen.

How very sad it is that when one’s circumstances have improved, that one’s memory of the past doesn’t always keep pace.