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Sudanese refugees left outside Beersheba city hall
Anat Bereshkovsky
Published: 03.07.07, 16:50
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30 Talkbacks for this article
1. This Is A Real Problem!
Bill Foonman ,   Jacksonville, USA   (07.03.07)
My heart goes out to these poor people but Israel should not and cannot be a final refuge for thousands of Moslem refugees. When word gets back to the Sudan and other African countries that Israel provides sanctuary for all illegal, economic refugees, there will be a mass exodus towards the border. The Israeli government must deal with this problem - soon!
2. Suggestion
M. Hartley ,   Atlanta, US   (07.03.07)
How about publicly appealing for help and publishing the names and addresses of the students who are trying to help these people? If nothing else, some of us would be glad to send money. This info. was absent from a similar article," Angel of Bersheeba." I don't have a clue and wouldn't be so presumptious as to tell Israel what to do with these refugees in the long run, but in the meantime, you can't just let these people starve and rot in the streets.
3. #2 M. Hartley - Atlanta.
Terry ,   Eilat, Israel   (07.03.07)
You have a good heart. But don't worry, they won't starve. Unlike our gov't., ordinary citizens will take charge & actually do something. While the gov't. plays "pass the buck" an occupation they are highly skilled at, these refugees will be taken care of. In a way, they're lucky our gov't. doesn't function or they would have been deported immediately.
4. Move them to Ramat Aviv at once
Amir ,   Beer Sheva   (07.03.07)
Why wait? Move them to Ramat Aviv.
5. Hey Carter, Why would they seek refuge in apartheid state?
Cynic ,   USA   (07.03.07)
6. #5 Refuge in an apartheid state????
vicky ,   ashkelon, israel   (07.03.07)
This is great coming from a country that classifies its people by their race. Israel does not tolerate apartheid. Come visit and see for yourself. Even our Israeli arabs live amoungst jews as well as mixed Aviv, Jerusalem, all mixed and if left alone by morons like you they would live in peace. Ethiopian, Rusian, Anglos all live amongst each other without racial fighting or comments. Can you say the same??????????
7. #3 Mrs Hartley - There are 53,000 homeless Israelis
Gary ,   USA   (07.03.07)
who have no place to sleep, according to a leader for the homeless who marched on the Knesset recently. There is a protest camp for the hundreds of homeless in Jerusalem. You are very kind, but Israel is not the place to dump all the refugees in the world. Sending money won't solve the problems that these people may cause the country in the future. Please remember, Israel is a country that may find itself at war at any time. Israelis themselves lack the very basics, such as bomb shelters and gas masks. If you love Israel, please do not promote the idea that this is the country that must take care of this problem, while the UN and the Arab and African countries do nothing. It is unfair. Finally, keep in mind that these are economic refugees. They already found sanctuary in Egypt. They came to Israel looking for a better life, that's all. Israel deported 800 foreigners the other day, mostly Africans from countries other than Sudan, who had come to Israel as economic refugees. The international media is playing on the compassion of people like you to promote the migration of non-Jews into Israel and to overwhelm the country with additional demographic conflict. Maybe you can contact your congressman and demand that the US take in a bigger share of Darfurian refugees. There is a lot more room in the United States than in tiny Israel.
8. This is very sad, but Israel can't absorb all these people
Elliot ,   USA   (07.03.07)
9. Send them to the Vatican
MARK ,   USA   (07.03.07)
10. This is one of those typical issues where the truth
Howard K ,   NYC   (07.03.07)
gets completely lost behind the PR. The fact that Israel is being infiltrated by many nationalities should give Israelis a clue that this is not a case of refugees fleeing for their lives. It is a bogus case to present the refugees from Darfur as the equivalent of the Holocaust Jews because they have already found refuge in Egypt. The reason they are moving on to Israel is of an economic nature. The fact is that this situation must be presented for what it is: They are Economic Migrants. And the Israeli government must stop wringing their hands in indecision while the problem grows out of control. You must keep in mind that once these people are given asylum, they won't ever go back to the Sudan because that country will be mired in conflict for decades to come. And they couldn't be sent back to Egypt because Egypt at that point won't take them. Israel will be faced with an African population that is not Jewish, may or may not be Christian, and whose children one day will feel alienated and turn against the state. Israel's first duty is to pay attention to its reason for being: a safe shelter for the Jews of the world. Those refugees must be returned to Egypt as soon as they arrive. And Israel must establish some legislation, as quickly as possible, to deal with a problem that has existed for years: border infiltration.
11. Refugees
Nemesis   (07.03.07)
C'mon people..Israel is a small country,very small..when refugees pass through Arab countries to reach Israel,doesn't say much about the Arab countries. However Israel cannot support 100,000 refugees,which is what wil happen if they start letting them in. It will set a precedent and the next thing we know there will be a million of them,and they are mostly Muslim. Israel has enough problems with Muslims as it is. There is plenty of room in Egypt and othe Arab countries to absorb these people.
12. Dillemas Dillemas
Korem ,   New York, USA   (07.03.07)
I honestly think these people don't represent a "threat" to Israel. They are not supporting terrorist groups, or sympathizing with them, so demographics or not, I think a few hundred refugees is not much of a problem. Now the moment thousands start to pour in, that's when Israel should refuse, but this isn't that moment yet. Anyway as to this particular story, this is kind of a disgrace, that the government doesn't know what to do, and has no action. It is a moral obligation of the Jewish people to help refugees from genocide. Hopefully there are enough charity groups and kibbutzim that can help these people.
13. transfer all new refugees to the UNHCRs doorstep
jack bauer ,   usa   (07.03.07)
let them try and find a solution that is what they get there mandate to do, and is why they recieve fundiing
14. Howard K #10: You make a persuasive case....
Steve ,   US   (07.03.07)
I'm struggling with this one. I'm not a religious Jew though I believe we have a long tradition of showing kindness to the alien and the stranger that sojourns amongst us. We are told to remember that we were strangers in the land of Egypt. To me, this is a good tradition. On the other hand, if these are enemies that are coming into our land or in time will turn on Israel as you suggest, this would be different. I simply do not know except Sudan is considered an enemy state to Israel but then England used this excuse to not accept German Jewish refugees prior to and during WWII, saying they were enemy German nationals. What is the right thing to do?
15. #6 was being Cynic at Carter's book
gabriela ben ari   (07.03.07)
16. Korem, Steve
AK   (07.03.07)
Israel is a tiny country with powerful enemies without and within. Muslim refugees from anywhere in the world are definitely not Israel's problem. However since you're feeling so strongly about this issue, I suggest you contact your respective senators to arrange for an asylum for those people in the US. Just keep in mind that the beneficiaries of the last humanitarian gesture, the Somalis, are the very same people who are now demanding that sharia law be honored in S Paul and in other places (foot baths at the airport and refusal to carry passengers with seeing dogs or alcohol.)
17. AK #16, I do not feel so strongly about this
Steve ,   US   (07.03.07)
I only wanted to explore whether we as Jews have any moral obligations. Someone wrote earlier that many of these are Christian refugees. If they are all Islamic enemies as you suggest, why would I contact my Senators? Jihadists want to kill Jews in the U.S. and Europe as much as they want to kill Jews in Israel. If they are all Muslim enemies then they should all be deported back to Egypt. Every one of them and if you are living in Israel, you should be protesting this not just on this news page but on other news pages that afford comments like Ynet affords. Do you live in Israel? You say they are all Muslim and enemies. I will take your word for it. You seem to know. I was opposed to Israel taking in Bosnian Muslim refugees.
18. The UN should deal with this problem.
(07.04.07)
19. Korem #12, Doesn't AK #16 have a point?
Steve ,   US   (07.04.07)
AK is right about the Somali immigrants into Minnesota. I did a quick search on-line: MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - For Mahamed Jama, a Minnesota taxi driver, the Islamic restriction on drinking alcohol is a seamless rule for life. "He who carries alcohol, he who drinks and he who sells it are the same thing," he says..... These are Somali immigrants Korem, seeking asylum from persecution. Then they rise up against us. Next they will want women beaten for not wearing Hijab. Israel does not need this. Who needs this? Let them live under Sharia law in Saudi Arabia or some other Moslem state. Am I right?
20. #19..Steve
Nemesis   (07.04.07)
You are most definatley right!
21. #7 Gary - 53,000 HOMELESS Israelis
Linda Rivera ,   New York   (07.04.07)
Gary, I would appreciate it if you could provide links to articles on the 53,000 homeless Israelis. This is very shocking. Even more shocking is that Israeli leaders give mega millions in tax revenues to Israel's implacable enemies - the Palestinian Authority/PLO who are at WAR with Israel and who plan the destruction of Israel and annihilation of the Jewish people. The mega millions in tax revenues belong to Israel's Jews - the many THOUSANDS of Israeli VICTIMS of Arab TERROR and belong to Sderot's desperate citizens who live every moment in fear of daily, incessant rocket attacks. The millions in tax revenues must be used for Sderot to be equipped with every type of military weapon including rockets so that Sderot can FIGHT BACK and WIN. Israel's government ALLOWED Arabs to illegally build on Jewish land in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel - LAND THAT BELONGS TO 53,000 HOMELESS ISRAELIS. 22 HUGE Arab countries possessing great oil wealth. 56 Muslim countries. TINY Israel the sole Jewish state - only one tenth of one percent of the Middle East.
22. #16 AK How right you are
Glenn ,   Canada   (07.03.07)
It is hard to distinguish the good refugees from the bad ones. Two or three of the men involved in the latest terrorist plot in the UK were what you would call the very best: doctors, family men, educated and affluent. In the previous terrorist attack on the London underground, it was the children of those immigrants or refugees, born and raised in the UK, who felt the need to attack their own countrymen. The conclusion is that there is no way to measure the worthiness of an immigrant. Either they or their offspring might become security risks. So when these people say that these Sudanese are suffering from persecution and therefore are not a threat to Israel, I'd say, think again. These same people, once accepted and established in Israel, will realize that they have no cultural, religious, historical or ideological connection with Israel. That is difficult for immigrants but it's even more difficult for their children. The most natural reaction will be resentment and who knows where that may lead to. I agree with previous comments that Israel's first responsibility is to protect Jews. Right now the country is being drained by its own internal problems and by hostility from outside. These are not optimal circumstances for taking on the gigantic task of caring for the world's poor. Because, the truth is that these Sudanese have already found asylum in Egypt. It's out of poverty that they, along with many other Africans, are now trying to infiltrate into Israel. The issue of asylum for the people of Darfur is for the UN to deal with, and then other African countries. Israel does not share a border with Sudan and Israel is too small to absorb hundreds of non-Jews.
23. It seems that the issue of religion is muddled
Carl ,   Indianapolis, USA   (07.04.07)
Originally it was Muslim against the Southern Christians and animists. Things are not so clear because it's a struggle for land and resources, so there seems to be a fight of Muslim against Muslim as well. One thing to keep in mind is that Christianity in Africa is of a different sort than the one we are used to see in Western coutries. The genocide in Rwanda saw the very active participation of the Catholic clergy. Several nuns were convicted of genocide. Perhaps we're dealing with people who just happen to find themselves on the losing side, but who are not necessarily as peaceful as we'd like them to be. Just a thought. When in doubt, abstain. Israel does not need to take this risk that will affect future generations of Jews. The UN has the duty and responsibility to look after the refugees of the world.
24. Steve, not even the rabbis agree.
Debbie ,   Seattle   (07.04.07)
You have to look into your heart. The Jews are in danger today as they were in the 30s and 40s. Protecting the Jews, your children, your grandchildren. That is the duty of Israelis and Jews everywhere. This is what we are accountable for: how we help our own to survive. Filling Israel with people filled with hate for the Jews is not an act of kindness.
25. Instead of releasing hundreds of millions of dollars
American Lady ,   US.   (07.04.07)
to the TERRORIST- ABBAS/ FATAH- GIVE that money to the REAL peaceful refugees who will use the money for food and shelter, NOT WEAPONS TO KILL INNOCENT JEWISH CITIZENS. Thank you,
26. #21 - Linda Rivera - Link to Israeli homeless story
Gary ,   USA   (07.04.07)
As I said, this is a number quoted by an advocate for the homeless. It's indeed a huge number. It may include expellees still living in substandard housing, whole families in cramped trailers, who may have roof but are living in third world conditions. I don't know. Google didn't have any other sources. Perhaps readers with access to official Hebrew sites can confirm.
27. Curious
Patricia ,   Waipahu, Hawaii   (07.04.07)
I have read this article twice and still cannot determine who or what abandoned these people and from where were they abandoned? It sounds like they just popped over from Eygpt but there must have been somewhere else they were prior to where they were found. Does anyone know where their husbands were arrested. This was a very poorly written article. I agree Israel is in a real quandry here, but I am heartened to read that the mayor is trying to be responsible and Terry from Eilat's post that ordinary citizens respond too. The UN it seems will do nothing to help these poor souls. But just let Israel forget to dot an i....
28. #21 - Linda Rivera - How to find the link
Gary ,   USA   (07.04.07)
The link didn't get printed on my TB. But if you google "Israel Homeless", you'll see the Jerusalem Post story listed, about the seventh on the first google page. The story appeared on the J. Post two days ago and it was entitled: "J'lem homeless step up fight for 'a home for every Israeli'"
29. Patricia
Gary   (07.04.07)
These people made it all the way from the Sudan to Egypt. There they obtained refugee status. Although they had refugee cards, they decided to go to Israel in search of jobs. They no longer need a refuge, they need jobs. That's why they and other Africans are trying to infiltrate into Israel right now.
30. #28 - Thank you, Gary !
Linda Rivera ,   New York   (07.04.07)
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