Israel's New Racism

[Firecat]

Not sure if this has been discussed yet on the forums.

This is something that has been going on for the last decade I would say, but as more and more Africans head to Israel the problem seems to be getting worse. They are referred to as "infiltrators"....

It's a real complex issue. Of course, a lot of countries in the world have similar problem regarding illegal immigration/undocumented workers. Israel can't deport most of them because according the UN (I believe) they are refugees and protected.

This video has some footage of protesters, it's a bit hard to watch. Mainly because there is a lot of hatred/racism being spewed (hence the title of the video & thread)..which I think detracts from the issue itself. The video is from The Nation, so obviously a liberal/left-leaning group.

Now, one of the leaders of the protests and Knesset members raises an interesting point, which is the direction I'm hoping to discuss in this thread. He says that Israel is different from other countries, because if Israel allows mass immigration it will cease to be a Jewish State (we've heard this raised before regarding the Palestinians claiming a right to return).

Which in and of itself is true. Of course, I don't think other nations could claim the same without being denounced. (i.e. If we allow X into our country, we will no longer be Y & Z). Is it ok for any country to say that we don't want people from different backgrounds because it would change our preferred demographics?

So....round them up and send them home (no other country will take them, Egypt I believe has refused even though they cross from there) and face all kinds of International grief? Give them rights? I think the plan is to build a wall to prevent more refugees from entering. No easy answer. Suffice it to say, the problems Israel faces and will continue to face in order to preserve their "Identity"...it's a ticking time-bomb.

*Edit

I think the unfortunate part seeing what the extremists in the video say/do (not that they are representative of the population of Greater Israel) is thinking about how Jews were denigrated by the Nazis. Obviously they aren't being sent to gas chambers, but the speech...

 

[Interrobang]

As it is quite hard as a german commenting on something like racism or human rights violation in Israel where walking the fine line between legitimate criticsm and percieved antisemitism is a bloody hard job - let me just comment on something generally ...

[...]Is it ok for any country to say that we don't want people from different backgrounds because it would change our preferred demographics?

Historically countries and borders are irrelevant. As are religions, culture or language. Humanity migrates.
Where I?m sitting now, 200 years ago was french. Then Belgian. Before that Prussia, the holy roman empire, the romans, the kelts, the chaukans, the hunns, the franks, the saxons ... the whatevers. The List is long (and our records don?t even go back much longer than 2000 years) but the message is clear. People migrate, people change, people intermix. Demographics change. That is the course of history. It has always been this way, it always will. Putting some people under some sort of banner and go "this will never change, this is the way it is" is simply not human nature. We call it racism, but it is simply denial of what humans do and always will be doing. If someone wants to fight human migration and the change it brings to societies - one might as well go to the ocean to fight the waves. You cannot conserve something the way it is at some point of time (be it culture, religion, language or any other aspect of human life), it is useless since we humans are bound to evolve, to change, to migrate.

 

[M3lover]

Somewhere in this development I sense one could find a trace of irony.

 

[_HighVoltage_]

It is sickening.

This is an extreme version of an ideological problem in which one can only define his or her own identity through identifying an "enemy" or an Other. In other words, it is easier to identify what is NOT part of the Israel identity, than what actually is. It's also an easy way to position the Other as a scapegoat for social, political, and economic problems, thus avoiding their real causes.

 

[AiR]

It is interesting and a bit ironic when a representative of a Jewish state uses the same arguments as representatives for those parties who want to eliminate the same do.

 

[amxeno]

People migrate, people change, people intermix. Demographics change.

A perfect way to summarize this issue. A homeland is nice, sure, but what about others Jewish folks? Walling yourself off from the world does not preserve cultural identity. If anything this can be seen in the multitude of other nations who see Israel as a holy land who have strong cultural identities. If they want their way of life to survive it needs to be strengthened through other methods, not segregation.

Also, thanks for the vid Firecat.

- - - Updated - - -

It is sickening.
This is an extreme version of an ideological problem in which one can only define his or her own identity through identifying an "enemy" or an Other.

Interesting, I've never thought of it in that exact way. Thanks for the point of view.