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| Re: Palestinian university students’ trip to Auschwitz causes uproar (1182306) | |||
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Re: Palestinian university students’ trip to Auschwitz causes uproar |
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Posted by Nilet on Sat May 10 10:37:56 2014, in response to Re: Palestinian university students’ trip to Auschwitz causes uproar, posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Fri May 9 12:53:04 2014. Guess what? If you want, you can walk into an unkosher McDonald's (of which there are many in Israel) and order a cheeseburger if you really want it. If that's what you really want to do, by all means, go and do it, no one is going to stop you.That's rather a lot of noise and yet it took a rather circuitous route around my point and failed to address it entirely. My point was this: Israel will accept any Jew from anywhere at any time (but doesn't extend the same welcome mat for other people). Neither the Czech Republic nor Slovakia do anything comparable, and so they don't demonstrate your claim that Israel is hardly unique in that respect. But stop being an asshole because no one here is saying you need to be religious, those of us who are religious are merely asking you to respect our choices. I do. Unfortunately, it's becoming increasingly clear that you don't want "respect," you want a free pass on criticism. No one gets that and no one should expect it. It wasn't a joke, it was downright insulting and rude. Case in point. The only way it could be considered "rude" and "insulting" is if you consider it inherently rude an insulting that I don't subscribe to your religion or that I practice its rituals "incorrectly" or that I mention doing so. I mentioned this in that thread itself, but I don't think I got a response so I'll repeat it. I have, on several occasions, been invited to a Seder that was not kosher and which included readings from a homemade Haggadah that deviated significantly from the standard text. Was that "rude" and "insulting?" Even "antisemitic?" Chris isn't exactly a popular Jewish name, so I'd hope the Interior Ministry and Jewish Agency look into how he got that name and ensure he has the proper documentation as he tries to apply for citizenship or a work visa (the documentation requirement are basically the same). But provided he has a letter from a recognized rabbi indicating he is Jewish, money to pay his fees, shows up for his interview with the Jewish Agency if he is making aliyah as opposed to just applying for a work visa, etc., he should be good to go. And there it is. He should be good to go— as long as he has a letter from a rabbi to prove he's Jewish. No letter? Not so good to go. The choice of "Chris Cohen" was deliberate— combining a seemingly Jewish name with a non-Jewish one makes it ambiguous as to his religious persuasion and background. It obviously worked, since you've provided more detail than I was expecting about the need to prove one's Judaism in order to get entry permission. And having gone through that process (and being told I needed an updated letter proving I was Jewish because the one I brought to a visa renewal appointment was two years old, like I was somehow not Jewish anymore), it is cumbersome, even for those of us who should breeze through it. Admittedly, it is possible to convert (or deconvert) within the space of two years so, while I think the special-consideration-for-Jews thing isn't so great I can see why they'd ask for a more recent letter. As I wrote elsewhere, it might be the "decent" thing to do, but Israel is not set up nor can it serve as a refuge for every single persecuted person on the planet. Israel takes in lots of refugees who aren't Jewish. Which is good. I'm glad we agree on that then. I still don't think non-persecuted Jews should take priority over persecuted goyim though. And I suspect Israel takes in fewer refugees than it should. Many of them fled to one country only to find it subsequently conquered by the Nazis and now they were no better off than before. And as Gamera wrote, lots of countries didn't open the door at all, never mind holding it open even. Yes, many nations closed their doors. My point was it's hypocritical for Israel to do the same thing. |
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