Israel’s Darfuri Dilemma: Moral imperatives, real concerns, painful choices
July 3 2007: Eran Lerman, Director Israel/Middle East Office, American Jewish Committee
(NOTE: While a number of political NGOs, including Amnesty International, were quick to condemn Israeli hesitation regarding the Sudanese refugees entering from Egypt, the issues are far more complex than acknowledged in their slogans and press statements. In contrast, Eran Lerman’s analysis, summarized here, provides clarity on the difficult human rights dilemmas that are involved for Israel.)
Excerpts:
- The moral imperative, implicit in …Israel’s unique sense of having been born amidst the ashes of a previous genocide requires that the Darfuris who reach our soil find shelter here, not only as refugees, but more specifically as the survivors of a deliberate mass murder by the Janjaweed militias (who have strong links to the Islamist elements led by Hasan Turabi).
- Sending a welcome signal, even if it was strictly for Darfuris, would be seen and may already be interpreted, to judge by the rising numbers of people crossing over as an open invitation for multitudes of impoverished Africans to seek their luck here.
- To the extent that they can be told apart (by their own, if not by Israeli police patrolmen), true Darfuris would need to be offered a different fate than that of other Sudanese who came seeking work. …Even stricter measures would need to be applied with other Africans, who face no similar risk if they are forcibly repatriated. For some Israeli NGOs, to decry any such distinctions may be morally sensible, but in effect, a hindrance to the ability to do something for the truly needy Darfuris.
What Israel needs, then, is an actively moral and historically aware leadership; a good, strong border fence, with some gates open to special cases; a much more extensive commitment to foreign aid, in the camps in Chad and elsewhere, as befits a member of the OECD; and an elaborate strategy of joining hands with the rest of the Jewish world on a mission of tikkun olam. A tall order, but not beyond reach.
Israel’s Darfuri Dilemma: Moral imperatives, real concerns, painful choices and a failure of communication
Eran Lerman, Director Israel/Middle East Office
Date: 7/3/2007
