Israel PM: illegal African immigrants threaten identity of Jewish state

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Israel PM: illegal African immigrants threaten identity of Jewish state

Binyamin Netanyahu reignites row over fate of thousands of African
migrants in Israel

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 May 2012 16.40 BST

The Israeli prime minister has stoked a volatile debate about refugees and migrant workers from Africa, warning that "illegal infiltrators flooding the country" were threatening the security and identity of the Jewish state.

"If we don't stop their entry, the problem that currently stands at 60,000 could grow to 600,000, and that threatens our existence as a Jewish and democratic state," Binyamin Netanyahu said at Sunday's cabinet meeting. "This phenomenon is very grave and threatens the social fabric of society, our national security and our national identity." Israel's population is 7.8 million.

His comments follow media reports of rising crime, including two gang rapes, in southern Tel Aviv, where many African migrants are concentrated. However, Micky Rosenfeld, spokesman for the Israeli police, said the overall crime rate in Israel had fallen. There had been one alleged rape of a teenage girl connected to the migrant community, for which three suspects were in custody, he added.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/20/israel-netanyahu-african-immigrants-jewish

[LeftishBrit]

2. All right-wingers sound the same

To be fair, all countries practice some form of immigration control and seek to discourage illegal immigration; but politicians who spout about 'the social fabric of society' and 'national identity' are usually right-wing.

And if one is going to go into that, the right-wing settlers seem to me to be far more of a threat to Israel's traditional social values than these African immigrants.