After a year-long battle over the fate of 1,200 children of undocumented migrant workers, the Israeli cabinet has finalized plans that will lead to the deportation of at least 400 minors, along with their parents.
The government also approved criteria that would make approximately 800 of the children eligible for naturalization. Children must have studied last year in the state school system, they must be registered for first grade or higher, they must have been here for at least 5 consecutive years, they must have been born here or arrived before the age of 13, they must speak fluent Hebrew, and their parents must have arrived on a valid work visa.
Families who are eligible to stay in Israel have 21 days to file their paperwork. Critics say that this window is too narrow and is likely to lead to the deportation of hundreds of kids who are eligible for naturalization but fall through the bureaucratic cracks.
Critics have also pointed out that the strict criteria might lead to the deportation of minors who meet all conditions except for one -- such as a child who is repeating kindergarten and is not registered for first grade; the children of parents who worked for embassies; or families who left the country for a short period in the last five years. Also of concern are the now-adult children of migrant workers. A generation born and raised in Israel, this group is ineligible for naturalization simply because they are over the age of 18.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who has been a vociferous proponent of the deportation, will examine the borderline cases.
The struggle began last July, when Israel announced its intention to expel all 1200 children of undocumented migrant workers. The move, a reversal of Israel's long-held policy against deporting minors, sparked outrage amongst Jewish Israelis and massive protests.
Responding to public pressure, the deportation was delayed until the end of the school year. In the meantime, Israel, which has no immigration law for non-Jews, formed a governmental committee to find a "one-time" solution to the matter.
Those who support the children argue that the kids are Israeli. They were born and raised here, speak Hebrew, attend local schools, and are a part of society.
Yishai, who has backed the plan for deportation despite the fact that the public and many Israeli politicians are against it, says the children are a threat to the Jewish character of the state. He has also stated that migrant workers bring "a profusion of diseases" to Israel.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who has also expressed concern that the children of foreign workers might erode the Jewish identity of Israel -- praised the cabinet's decision to naturalize 800 minors while deporting the rest, calling it "reasonable and balanced."
Roei Lachmanovich, Yishai's spokesman, remarked on Sunday that the move is not a decision against the children. Rather, it is against the parents who, according to Lachmanovich, are illegal workers that hide behind their babies.
But many of the women lost their legal status after they gave birth as Israeli policy forbids migrant workers from having children in the state -- effectively forcing women to choose between keeping their baby or their visa.
Israeli policy also forbids migrant workers from getting married.
Migrant workers arrived in Israel in the late 1980s, at the beginning of the first Intifada, to replace Palestinian day laborers. Their population grew steadily throughout the 1990s and boomed in the early 2000s, with the second Intifada.
The last major crackdown on undocumented migrant workers began in 2002. Immigration police targeted fathers in hopes that their wives would follow them back to their country of origin, taking their children along with them. Instead, many women chose to stay in Israel and a community of single moms took root.
Today, Israel is home to approximately 300,000 migrant workers. Estimates of the number of undocumented workers vary, with some placing it as high as 250,000.
The Israeli government says that it aims to reduce the state's dependency on migrant workers. The government also hopes to clear the country of undocumented laborers. But critics point out that in 2009, the same year the plans to expel the children were announced, Israel issued a record number of visas to migrant workers. Critics refer to Israel's simultaneous deportation and importation of workers as the "revolving door" policy.
In the wake of Israel's decision to expel children and their families, the United Nation's Children Fund (UNICEF) issued sharp criticism of the revolving door. Regarding the deportation UNICEF remarked, "The government's policy is a gross violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child," pointing out that Israel is a signatory.
Human rights groups and Israeli politicians also slammed the decision. Haim Oron, head of the left-leaning Meretz party, called the deportation "brutal, random, and regretful."
In an op-ed penned for the Israeli daily Haaretz, Yossi Sarid, a former member of Knesset, questioned whether Zionism and humanitarianism can co-exist. Bemoaning the expulsion, calling it "despicable" and "evil", Sarid wrote, "The fools in the cabinet decided to let 800 children of migrant workers remain in the country -- but took the opportunity to deport 400."
Sarid called on the Israeli public to hide the children in their homes, "Let the representatives of the law look for them in the attic, in the basement, in the closets, under the beds; let the authorities tear them from your arms."
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"According to Israeli law (which is similar in this respect to the laws of other democracies) circa 1,200 children of illegal immigrants were to be deported from the country. However, due to humanitarian considerations, the Israeli government has decided to grant residence and naturalization rights to those children who a) having lived in the country from an early age and for a relatively long time, might be traumatized if uprooted; and b) are able to integrate into the Israeli society (as evidenced by school attendance and command of the language). Circa 2/3 of the children fulfill these criteria."
I have no doubt that the Israel-haters much prefer Ms. Guarnieri's "angle". But then, they ravenously gulp whatever "negative" aspects they can "fish" out of the Israeli soup. And for them, there is ALWAYS a negative angle. Did they not find one even when IDF set up a field hospital to help earthquake victims in Haiti?
People with expired work visas are deported. In Israel, USA, UK, Switzerland... UK often rejects Afghan asylum seekers (including children) on technicalities...
Israel isn't perfect. No country is. One can choose to focus exclusively on its imperfections, to the glee of the haters (who -- see their comments -- do not want a better Israel, but NO Israel). It's unfair to judge Israel against some non-existent ideal of "purity". Judged in comparison with other democracies, it actually gets good marks. With all its imperfections, it genuinely strives to be an enlightened democracy, under extremely difficult circumstances. For this, it deserves praise, not censure.
You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. You enjoy that freedom, because you are lucky enough to live & work in Israel, rather than in Syria, Egypt, Jordan or Saudi Arabia. Too bad you choose to use that freedom to slander the only country in the region which allows it.
"The US deports tens of thousands of illegal immigrants every year"... The last I checked, none of these were children.
Tell me, how is criticizing my state-- the country I live in-- automatically anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic? You know what's anti-Semitic? Waving a flag as the Jewish state is doing itself in.
Deporting children is not a Jewish value. Remember that Jews are commanded to remember their own exile, their own time as foreigners, in the land of Egypt.
If Zionism was meant to create a safe haven for Jews in the face of the Diaspora, does it also have to create a state that rejects non-Jews? If any person who can erode the "Jewish nature" of Israel is forced to leave, is that not racism pure and simple? Israel will continue to be a country where Jewish people can move to, even if non-Jews live there - and as such can still serve the purpose it was created for.
A Tale Of Two Summer Camps And One Dark Future
http://maxblumenthal.com/2010/08/a-tale-of-two-summer-camps-and-one-dark-future/
My country still has domestic struggles, which currently consist of political and regional economic survival. These two calamities are far easier to debate and find resolution in, then the ethnic isolation that one group of peoples can impose upon another. While our constitution has not fully resolved the cultural conflicts within our borders it has set the stage for a more peaceful resolution process. Our French Nationalist represented, Her Royal Opposition, within our House of Commons. First Nations have achieved or moved a step closer to land dispute resolutions and self determination. Once again, cultural conflict is still part of my nations struggle; however, we have created a conflict resolution mechanism that prevents our judicial system from holding any cultural bias in their decision process.
My nation’s history has had very dark moments. Without understanding the limits to the right of the individual, Canada could have faced separation. The Israeli policy you mention is part of an ongoing cultural protectionism expressed by Israel. While Israel may feel its immigration policy and ethnic identity is its individual right, they must be aware that it limits or hinders the needs of the other.
Well informed article Mya. In Canada, my home country, There is within our culture an understanding of basic human rights and the expressed needs of the individual. It is found in the Constitution Act of 1982, under “Charter of Human rights and Freedoms”. In part, this change to the British North American Act of 1867 occurred due to the growing hostilities in Canada between the French and the English. In addition, it was part of the long term struggle of our First Nation Peoples. We came to understand that expressed rights are limited, when they hinder or deny the rights of another.
Perhaps they are making room for the Americans who have decided to migrate to their homeland.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/230-immigrants-from-north-america-arrive-in-israel-on-nefesh-b-nefesh-flight-1.305570
This has nothing to do with Arabs. These are children of illegal migrant workers (mostly from the far east, eastern Europe and Africa), whose parents have overstayed their visas. The children have no legal standing and the decision to let those with proven ties to Israel (language, school etc.) stay just points to a humanitarian consideration overcoming a purely legal one.
While personally I am for letting these kids stay, the problem of illegal immigration is a serious one faced by many western nations in Europe and America. In this respect, the actions of Israel aren't different from other nations who also deport illegal immigrants.
Yes, the actions of Israel are different from other nations in that Israel is preparing to deport children. The US offers citizenship to children born on its soil. Israel deports them.
Yes, this does relate to the Palestinians. Israel brought migrant workers in the late 1980s, at the beginning of the first Intifada, to replace Palestinian day laborers. Now, Israel doesn't want this group of non-Jews here, either.
When I saw the Huffpost header re a Republican supporting cancellation of the 14th, it occuured to me that the Dems won't have to do much campaigning, the GOP is shooting itself in the foot daily.
And another parallel worth drawing is that both the US and Israel are countries of immigrants that have displaced native populations. And both are increasingly turning on the newest groups of "outsiders."