Ethnic group, get out of region!
Been meaning to blog about this one all week. Telling any ethnic group which has lived somewhere for several generations you don't have a right to exist here is racist and wrong in all circumstances. It's wrong in Arizona and it's wrong in Israel.
Arizona - The problem with Arizona's law isn't so much that it's anti-immigration (although I have problems with that as well), it's that it's anti-Hispanic. Hispanics, no matter how long their families have lived in this country, are now targeted. Looking Hispanic, not merely being in this country without legal papers, is grounds for suspicion. This is to protect "Americans." In other words, non-Hispanic Americans. There are numerous problems with this, not the least of which is that Arizona used to be part of Mexico. Hispanics have been there longer than Anglos.
Helen Thomas - A famous reporter who recently said, "Jews get out of Palestine!" "Where should they go?" "Germany, Poland, the US." (Ah, the US, renowned for its pro-immigration policies in the 21st century. See above. One blogger suggested the source of the firestorm around Thomas' remarks was US fear at the thought of six million non-Christian and in many cased non-English speaking Middle Easterners taking Thomas up on her invitation and moving here.)
So what was so terrible about what Thomas said? Many are defending her, and claiming that she's brave to "tell the truth."
1) Thomas is implying that all Israeli Jews are European colonizers, ignoring the fact that a large portion are Middle Eastern, and don't have ancestors who have ever lived in Europe. Israel, Palestine, the Holy Lands or whatever name you want to give to the region has been the home of the Jews for thousands of years, continuously. Yes, the Roman Empire kicked Jews out of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, but didn't exterminate all Jews in Syria Palestina (the Roman name for the region.) There's a reason Israel was chosen as the site of a Jewish nation state, and it has nothing to do with the Bible. There was already a sizeable Jewish population there.
Further, at the founding of Israel, many Middle Eastern countries expelled their own Jewish populations, who had nowhere to go but Israel. Think their descendants would be welcomed back to Iran or Syria?
2) There is, of course, a large Jewish population of European descent in Israel. Thomas is telling a particular ethnic group, "Go back to countries that tried to exterminate you because of your ethnicity within living memory." Is it really so hard to question that statement as morally problematic?
And I'll avoid bringing up the large Jewish population of African descent so as not to confuse the issue. (They should go back to Ethiopia?)
3) Some of her defenders have tried to claim she meant "Get out of Gaza," not "Get out of the Middle East." With her statement about Germany and Poland, that just doesn't wash.
To recap - Human beings, regardless of ethnicity, have a right to exist. "Get out. You're no longer welcome here" is unacceptable.
Arizona - The problem with Arizona's law isn't so much that it's anti-immigration (although I have problems with that as well), it's that it's anti-Hispanic. Hispanics, no matter how long their families have lived in this country, are now targeted. Looking Hispanic, not merely being in this country without legal papers, is grounds for suspicion. This is to protect "Americans." In other words, non-Hispanic Americans. There are numerous problems with this, not the least of which is that Arizona used to be part of Mexico. Hispanics have been there longer than Anglos.
Helen Thomas - A famous reporter who recently said, "Jews get out of Palestine!" "Where should they go?" "Germany, Poland, the US." (Ah, the US, renowned for its pro-immigration policies in the 21st century. See above. One blogger suggested the source of the firestorm around Thomas' remarks was US fear at the thought of six million non-Christian and in many cased non-English speaking Middle Easterners taking Thomas up on her invitation and moving here.)
So what was so terrible about what Thomas said? Many are defending her, and claiming that she's brave to "tell the truth."
1) Thomas is implying that all Israeli Jews are European colonizers, ignoring the fact that a large portion are Middle Eastern, and don't have ancestors who have ever lived in Europe. Israel, Palestine, the Holy Lands or whatever name you want to give to the region has been the home of the Jews for thousands of years, continuously. Yes, the Roman Empire kicked Jews out of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, but didn't exterminate all Jews in Syria Palestina (the Roman name for the region.) There's a reason Israel was chosen as the site of a Jewish nation state, and it has nothing to do with the Bible. There was already a sizeable Jewish population there.
Further, at the founding of Israel, many Middle Eastern countries expelled their own Jewish populations, who had nowhere to go but Israel. Think their descendants would be welcomed back to Iran or Syria?
2) There is, of course, a large Jewish population of European descent in Israel. Thomas is telling a particular ethnic group, "Go back to countries that tried to exterminate you because of your ethnicity within living memory." Is it really so hard to question that statement as morally problematic?
And I'll avoid bringing up the large Jewish population of African descent so as not to confuse the issue. (They should go back to Ethiopia?)
3) Some of her defenders have tried to claim she meant "Get out of Gaza," not "Get out of the Middle East." With her statement about Germany and Poland, that just doesn't wash.
To recap - Human beings, regardless of ethnicity, have a right to exist. "Get out. You're no longer welcome here" is unacceptable.