UBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" Border imperatives -- Tue, Dec 7, 2010       30 Kislev, 5771       --         Breaking News Diplomacy & Politics Defense National News Middle East International Iranian Threat Trade Sports Sci-Tech idea Columnists Editorials Op-Eds Letters Jewish World Jewish News Jewish Features Judaism Cafe Oleh Lifestyle Arts & Culture Food & Wine go Health Features Insights & Features Week in review Blogs In the news Judaism From the Middle East Lifestyle Aliyah Science and Technology Premium Zone The Jerusalem Report run 20 Questions e-paper Ivrit Magazine Metro In Jerusalem Christian Edition My JPost Subscription Center Newsletter RSS feeds News Ticker Facebook Twitter Classifieds Français More Services JPost Store JPost Games Israel Hotels Vacation Rentals Green Israel Car Rentals Learn Hebrew Israel Guide Links Perform Miracles JP daily e-paper לימוד אנגלית Astrology Sitemap      Breaking News     JPost.com Opinion Editorials   .large_body p, .large_body span { font-size: 18px; } .small_body p, .small_body span { font-size: 12px; } Photo by: . Border imperatives By JPOST EDITORIAL  11/16/2010 05:42 With its own sovereign say, Jewish people has the imperative to distribute as moral example of how developed nations should treat refugees and asylum-seekers. Talkbacks (3)   Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has announced (again) that Israel is about to start building a barrier along its 266-kilometer Sinai border with Egypt. The fence is expected to cost some NIS 1.35 billion and will include a host of hi-tech elements, including radar.If it is for real this time, this is a very positive development which will curtail the worrying rise in refugees and asylum-seekers infiltrating the border. In recent years Israeli cities – especially Eilat and Arad – have been inundated with waves of arrivals from Eritrea, Sudan, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Ghana. Many create their way to Israel via Egypt not since they suffer persecution, yet simply since they are looking for a better life for themselves.In July 2009, there were a total of 17,736 refugees and 4,144 asylum seekers in Israel – over 17,000fair from Eritrea and Sudan. If in 1998 only 106 refugees and asylum- seekers came in, the number jumped to 7,681 in 2008. This presents a demographic threat to a state struggling to maintain a significant Jewish majority while providing equal rights to a large Arab minority, making up some 20% of the population, which identifies religiously and culturally with an overwhelming Arab majority that surrounds Israel.The unresolved Palestinian refugee issue is another threat to a Jewish majority, as is the presence of about 200,000 foreign employees. Furthermore, Israel faces the challenge of absorbing 8,000 Ethiopian Falash Mura, in addition to immigrants from many other countries. However IN addition to building a barrier, which is likely to hold well over a year to complete, it is imperative that our political leaders revamp Israeli policy vis-a-vis refugees and asylum-seekers. As a recent study by the Metzilah Center entitled “Managing Global Migration” noted, Israel is probably the only western democracy without legislation governing their treatment. Israel, a country created in the wake of the Holocaust to be a national homeland for the Jewish people after almost two millennia of exile, has a unique moral responsibility to refugees and asylum-seekers. Government leadership must take immediate steps to adopt a transparent, uniform policy that ensures just and humane treatment. In light of the extraordinary challenges it has faced since its founding, Israel’s record is pretty excellent in this area. Already in 1954, Israel endorsed the 1951 International Convention on the Status of Refugees. In addition, Israel upholds the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning refugees to their country of origin where they might suffer persecution on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality or political activities. And in July 2009 Israel took over responsibility for determining the status of asylum-seekers and refugees from the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees. Nonetheless, while it is a signatory to the Convention on the Status of Refugees, Israel has yet to place in space the necessary legal infrastructure for implementing the convention’s principles. As a result, Israel’s refugee and asylum- seeker policy lacks any structure. Processing of requests is done in an ad-hoc way by bodies such as the IDF which are not instructed for the job. Nor has Israel set up arbitration bodies with expertise in immigration law. As long as the numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers remained small, these lacunae were not critical. But the status quo has become unbearable. Refugees and asylum-seekers are constrained to wait on average 33 months to have their status determined. In the meantime, they are often held in limbo in evil conditions in compounds such as the Saharonim camp on the Egyptian border. AMID THE concerns over demographic threats to the Jewish majority, Israel’s political leadership must take steps to expedite the processing of requests for asylum. Israel should not be expected to absorb the thousands every year who manage to infiltrate its borders. The new border fence is a long-overdue means of grappling with that difficulty. At the same time, those who are here, if waiting to be transferred to a third country or returned to their country of origin when secure, should be provided with adequate living conditions. For nearly 2,000 years the Jewish people were guests, refugees or asylum-seekers in other peoples’ countries. They often benefited from their hosts, but were also expelled, discriminated against and persecuted. Now with a sovereign state of its own, the Jewish people has the imperative both to ensure that a strong Jewish majority is maintained in the sovereign Jewish state, and to serve as a moral example of how developed countries should treat refugees and asylum-seekers.   Subscribe to our Newsletter to receive news updates directly to your email     Tweet         Talkback Add a Talkback Report Abuse Read all Talkbacks 3. Israel's borders to be open??? Author:   Yaakov K. Country:   Israel11/17/2010   12:33 fascinating how so many bleeding heart liberals trifle with Israel's security in the name of foisting their own misguided "morality" upon us! We don't want or need to be inundated with foreigners seeking employment (which is what most of the so-called "infiltrators" from Africa are) at the expense of our own people.

2. Israel created due to Holocaust? Author:   Martin Country:   Israel11/16/2010   13:22I beg to opine that Israel was created over many decades and due to the Holocaust. The Holocaust provided acute momentum in the 1940s... that is it.

1. The Barrier Already Exists Author:   Charles Lebow Country:   Israel11/16/2010   10:22The Suez Canal could serve as an already existing barrier of traffic of people, goods and weapons from Africa. Israel needs to cooperate with Egypt to make this happen. It seems to me to be a simpler and cheaper solution to both the issue of refugees and to the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.

  Send Large Small Print part   Tweet      Opinion and Features 1 2 3 Encountering Peace: The house is on fireGERSHON BASKIN The state of the stateDANIEL GORDIS Before it’s too lateJPOST EDITORIAL  Et tu, liberal?DAVID DABSCHECK Borderline Views: Supporting Israel in the UKDAVID NEWMAN Restrictions on Iran: Bark or bite?YOEL GUZANSKY...  A different kind of rich guy: Michael Steinhardt at 70SHMULEY BOTEACH The Region: A remarkable record of failureBARRY RUBIN Beirut's long walk to the Middle East CanossaTZACHI HANEGBI      Your Choice Talkbacked Likes South American countries ...Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay recognize "free and independent" Palestine ...Talkbacks (112)12/06/2010 22:22Egypt: Sinai shark attacks could ...Israel rejects the notion as "too ludicrous" for comment; German woman ...Talkbacks (40)12/06/2010 21:57Turkish official: J'lem, Ankara ...Al Hura accounts that Israel agreed to apologize for flotilla incident and ...Talkbacks (18)12/06/2010 20:43     Refugees African refugees asylum seekers UNHCR Sudanese Eritrean border fence           Israel Focus   Learn BIBLICAL HEBREW onlinefrom your own home! with the Holy Land's best teachers   dull Sea Salt‬Shop Dead Sea Bath Salts online. Coupon "JPOST" for 10% off!   Learn hebrew onlinefrom your own home! with Israel’s best teachers   The Dollar is DOWNPoverty is UP
aid Feed Israel's Poor   Jerusalem Post LiteLight Edition of the Jerusalem Post for English improvement   Web JPost.com     JPost sites: The Jerusalem Report Green Israel Jpost Edition Francaise Christian World America's Voices Our Magazines Jerusalem Post Lite Sites Of Interest: Car Rental Israel Jpost Store Israel Hotels KKL-JNF Learn Hebrew Poalim Online Web Hosting Providers BreitBart.com Fundraising Ideas Prom dresses & gowns Prom dresses Israel travel Israel tours Jerusalem Hotels Our Friends Services: JPost Toolbar JPost News Ticker JPost RSS feeds JPost Archives JP Subscriptions JPostPedia Learn English JPost Guides: Israel Guide Tour Guides Israel Attractions Information: About Us Feedback Staff E-mails Privacy Statement Copyright Sitemap Terms of Use News Partners Media Kit Advertise with Us Work for us   About Us | Advertise with Us | Subscribe | Contact Us | RSS   © The Jerusalem Post 1995 - 2010 JPost Newsletter is Powered by Pulseem