Because They Did Not Shelter Us When We Fled from Europe
(July 3, 2007)
Because they did not shelter us when we fled from Europe. Because barely 65 years ago we were slaughtered. Because the State of Israel was established so that this will never happen again. Because in the Jewish State the value of life is the ultimate value. Because as humans we must help the downtrodden. Because we can show the world how it should be done.
For a year and a half the Sinai border has seen a trickle of refugees, who have trekked thousands of miles. The have crossed into Egypt from Sudan and been pursued by the Egyptian authorities. They have crossed the Sinai Desert and are knocking on our door, pleading for help. In my visits to Chad and Sudan I met Darfuri refugees. I heard their horror stories, but more importantly, I saw the sparkle in their eyes - the all-too-familiar sparkle you see when meeting Holocaust survivors. Similar to Holocaust survivors, Darfuri refugees are asking to live, not to surrender, not to be extinct. The rage of vengeance does not burn in them, rather the triumph of survival, triumph of the human spirit.
Hard to believe. The State of Israel in the year 2007 is turning its back on more than one thousand refugees escaping from the killing fields in Sudan. Making matters even worse, the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, declared this week his intention to deport the refugees to Egypt.
Mr. Prime Minister, it is true that not all of the refugees are escaping from the genocide in Darfur. But can you guarantee that every single refugee on the boats fleeing Europe was an escaping Jew? And if there were passengers among the refugees who were simply seeking better living conditions, would that have justified sending the boats back to Europe?
Mr. Prime Minister, it is possible that you can count on the promise you received from the Egyptian President not to return the refugees to Sudan, where they will certainly be summarily executed. But isn't this simply throwing the problem onto someone else? Is it not in the clear interest of the State of Israel to show the world how to behave in the face of genocide? Have you forgotten our own history? Have you forgotten that we are Jews?
Unlike the time of the Holocaust, today there are international bodies that are able to help the State of Israel prove that there is another way. To show that the Jewish State acts according to different standards, different values.
The State of Israel must set aside a small area in the Negev and call on the United Nations High Commission on Refugees to open up a refugee camp. This does not obligate Israel to grant the refugees permanent residency. This is a temporary and humane solution. Today the refugees are been left in the streets of our cities, making it more difficult for the government to monitor their location. A camp under the auspices of the United Nations will allow for tighter supervision, sorting and treatment of the entering refugees, who will be cared for by an official body. Our security forces will once again be able to concentrate on more pressing concerns.
Currently, the subject of refugees from Darfur occupies a central place in the international dialogue. This is an opportunity to present Israel in a positive light, and not just as a place of perpetual conflict.
This is not the time to rely on those good-hearted citizens of Israel and the organizations they have founded to deal with this problem. These blessed organizations are only able to deal with local issues. This is a matter of policy. This is a matter of the national, moral and security interest.
Mr. Prime Minister, you and us have the opportunity to make history. We have the opportunity to show the world how it should be done. We have the opportunity to prove to our enemies that we are different from them. We have the opportunity to enable every Jew in the world and in Israel to hold their head up and say with pride: "This is how the Jewish State behaves."
Michael (Mickey) Bergman, Captain in Reserves, is the Director of Congressional Relations and Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, located in Washington DC, USA. Mickey has visited Darfur twice, latest as a member of Presidential Candidate Governor Bill Richardson's delegation to the Sudan.