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Jews must remember: We were refugees too

Sunday, 2. June 2013 - 12:50

When I first heard that people among us who have lost their homes and their homelands are being sent to jail, I remembered the tales of our mothers and fathers as refugees, when they were viewed as hostile, suspicious and dangerous - and also deprived of their human rights.

An IDF soldier standing guard over a group of Eritrean migrants, near the Israel-Egypt border.
Photo by Reuters

Throughout history, we Jews have been forced into the terrifying position of having to seek asylum time and again. There were heartless nations that closed their gates to us, dogs in the form of men that tore at our flesh, raped our women, murdered our children. And there were compassionate people who opened their doors to us, and among whom we had the privilege of living in harmony.

We have always understood the pain of losing one’s home, and thus can greatly appreciate our redemption. And so, when I first heard that people among us who have lost their homes and their homelands are being sent to jail, I remembered the tales of our mothers and fathers as refugees, when they were viewed as hostile, suspicious and dangerous − and also deprived of their human rights.

When they reach Israel, asylum seekers are sent to administrative detention centers without trial, under the infiltration law. The great majority come from Eritrea and Sudan, after having suffered terrible hardships in Sinai. Of course the refugee problem is complex, but in order to deal with that problem we must create regulations that uphold basic human rights for people living in Israel. This must be done as part of the “temporary group protection” Israel grants asylum seekers − a status created by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that prohibits countries from returning asylum seekers to their home countries if their lives or freedom are in danger.

On the one hand, the State of Israel has not taken steps to deport asylum seekers precisely because their lives would be in danger if they returned to their homelands. This in and of itself is a good thing − but at the same time, Israel has been imprisoning them for indefinite amounts of time, and that is a severe violation of their human rights. Israel refuses to grant refugee status to asylum seekers, despite the fact that it signed and even helped to word the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. It is a shame indeed to see Israel denying them that status now.

Recently we learned that compared to other industrialized OECD nations, Israel ranks last in terms of housing, education, job security, social welfare and various other criteria. So too can Israel’s treatment of asylum seekers be ranked among the worst-offending industrialized OECD nations. The Knesset Information and Research Center found that Israel is the only OECD member state that grants asylum seekers the lesser “temporary group protection” status, which is generally used by non-industrialized nations.

I understand that deliberation is required, but compassion is the ultimate value. Is imprisoning asylum seekers the correct approach to this situation? Refugees are not dangerous, infested animals. Refugees are hungry, thirsty, weak and desperate people, but they still have a sliver of hope in their hearts, they still pray to meet people who will greet them with outstretched arms. We are their last hope. We show them such insensitivity by funneling them into prisons.

As a human being and as a Jew, I identify with asylum seekers’ disappointment and pain. I am ashamed of the prison walls that hold these broken people, and I do not hide my shame.

To this day I am grateful to Iran for granting me refugee status in 1948 when I knocked on its gates. Not only did Iran save me from life-threatening danger, but it strengthened my faith in human solidarity, something that we are missing today.

Sami Michael

Source: 
www.haaretz.com
Tags: 
human rights
Israel
refugees