As Syrian refugees continued to pour into Europe over the weekend, some Israelis were calling on their government to open the border and allow in those fleeing the ongoing civil war in Syria.
But almost as soon as the discussion started, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discounted the possibility, saying, "Israel is a small, a very small country that lacks demographic and geographic depth."
Instead, at his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, the Israeli leader announced that construction had started on a fence along the country's eastern border with Jordan — a possible pathway for war-weary Syrians to reach Israel but also a way for extremists from groups such as the Islamic State to infiltrate the Jewish state.
"We will not allow Israel to be flooded with illegal migrants and terrorists," Netanyahu said in a statement.
The new barrier will extend from Israel's southern tip up to its existing border fence on the Golan Heights, the spot where Israel touches Syria.
Although Israel is one of five countries bordering Syria and has even seen some spillover from the fighting there, it has not officially taken in any refugees from the mostly Muslim country. The two nations have no diplomatic relations.
Israel has, however, provided medical care for wounded Syrians — about 1,000 or so — who have arrived at its border. It has also indicated that it would assist members of the minority Druze community in Syria, who live near the border with Israel, if their situation deteriorates.
Over the weekend, Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog called on the government to follow the lead of some European countries and take in refugees from Syria.
He said Jews could "not remain indifferent to hundreds of thousands of refugees."
Herzog was joined by other political leaders, including Zehava Galon, head of the left-wing Meretz party, who said that the images from Europe were shocking and that taking in a few tens of thousands of refugees not only would not harm Israel, but also would strengthen its standing in the Western world.
Another Knesset Member, Elazar Stern wrote on Facebook that Israel should "grant asylum to a limited number of Syrian refugees and recreate, to a certain degree, (former) prime minister Menachem Begin's first decision, to take in refugees from Vietnam."
Israel is well known for absorbing millions of Jewish immigrants, but it has little experience taking in people from other nations. From 1977 to 1979, Israel provided safe haven to 300 Vietnamese refugees, and in the early 1990s, it accepted 84 Bosnian Muslims from the former Yugoslavia.
However, over the past decade, it has been grappling with the influx of nearly 50,000 asylum-seekers from Africa, mostly Muslims from Sudan and Christians from Eritrea, who arrived by way of Israel's southern border with Egypt.
The presence of thousands of non-Jewish Africans, whom the authorities refer to as infiltrators or migrants, has proved a religious and cultural complication for Israel as it tries to keep the Jewish nature of the state intact.
It has also led to a series of zigzagging policies, including attempting to ban the Africans from seeking employment, internment in a semi-open desert facility and offering to pay them to return to a third country in Africa.
Israeli human rights groups are highly critical of the government's policy toward the Africans, saying they should be fully recognized as asylum-seekers or at least have their status determined. Activists point out that only a handful of people have received official shelter in Israel, a country of just over 8 million.
A parliamentary report published in 2013 noted that since its creation in 1948, Israel has granted official refugee status only to 200 people.
The Washington Post
Tue Sep 08 2015
Some Israelis want their government to take in the Syrian refugees but Benjamin Netanyahu discounted the possibility.
AWANI Ringkas: Tujuh PPS dibuka di Pulau Pinang
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
AWANI Tonight: 17 Sept 2024
#AWANITonight with @fayekwan_
1. MOH reports first Mpox case of 2024
2. Social media: Should M’sia implement stricter rules for children?
#AWANIEnglish #AWANINews
1. MOH reports first Mpox case of 2024
2. Social media: Should M’sia implement stricter rules for children?
#AWANIEnglish #AWANINews
AWANI Tonight: Tupperware Brands set to file for bankruptcy
Tupperware Brands is preparing to file for bankruptcy after a year-long effort to revive the business, as it faces mounting debt and a sharp decline in demand for its once iconic plastic containers.
AWANI Tonight: Should M'sia implement stricter controls for children on social media?
Dr Benjamin Loh from Taylor's University shares his insights about the necessity for setting a minimum age limit for children to use social media in Malaysia.
Banjir di Kedah semakin memburuk, bilangan mangsa cecah 1,018 orang
Situasi banjir di Kedah makin memburuk selepas bilangan mangsa mencecah 1,018 orang daripada 268 keluarga yang ditempatkan di 11 pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS) di negeri ini.
PM mahu persediaan mantap dilakukan menjelang kepengerusian ASEAN 2025
Perdana Menteri berkata Malaysia perlu menjadi peneraju hebat dengan menyusun pelbagai program yang benar-benar memberi kesan mendalam kepada komuniti ASEAN secara keseluruhannya.
PM Anwar ulangi komitmen Malaysia jayakan Agenda 2030 untuk pembangunan mampan
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim hari ini mengulangi komitmen Malaysia dalam menjayakan Agenda 2030 untuk pembangunan mampan seperti yang dimeterai bersama 192 negara lain pada 2015.
Bunuh: Dua buruh kasar terlepas hukuman mati, diganti penjara 30 tahun
Panel hakim menolak rayuan A.Rames dan Tew Siew Kem untuk mengetepikan sabitan terhadap mereka dan menggantikan hukuman mati dengan penjara.
HUMS dijangka siap Dis 2025, beroperasi pada Jan 2026 - Zambry
HUSM dibina dengan kapasiti 400 katil, 25 bilik pembedahan, 40 katil rawatan intensif atau rapi serta 145 buah klinik pakar.
Tiga wanita ditahan dalam Op Global sambung reman hingga 22 Sept
Tiga wanita yang ditahan menerusi Op Global di Nilai dan Seremban kerana disyaki terbabit dalam kes eksploitasi kanak-kanak di negeri ini, disambung reman hingga 22 Sept.
Houthi lancar peluru berpandu hipersonik "Palestine 2"
Kumpulan Houthi mendedahkan satu video berdurasi hampir dua minit menunjukkan rakaman pelancaran peluru berpandu hipersonik bernama "Palestine 2".
Tiada terowong Hamas ditemui di sepanjang Koridor Philadelphi
Koridor tersebut menjadi isu utama dalam rundingan gencatan senjata serta pertukaran tahanan antara Israel dan kumpulan pejuang Hamas.
Amaran Hamas buat Israel: “Lebih ramai tebusan akan mati jika Zionis guna tekanan tentera”
Hamas beri amaran lebih ramai tebusan akan mati jika Israel cuba membebaskan mereka secara ketenteraan, bukannya melalui perjanjian.
Benjamin Netanyahu mohon maaf kepada keluarga tebusan yang dibunuh
PM Israel beri amaran Hamas perlu membayar harga yang mahal terhadap apa yang dilakukan terhadap enam tebusan itu.
Benjamin Netanyahu "bimbang" protes meluas rakyat Israel
Menteri Pertahanan Israel pula gelar pendekatan kerajaan terhadap perjanjian tebusan sebagai "penghinaan moral."
Ratusan ribu rakyat Israel sertai tunjuk perasaan, marah cara Netanyahu tangani krisis tebusan
Sekurang-kurangya 700,000 sertai tunjuk perasaan menuntut Netanyahu segera setuju perjanjian gencatan senjata.
Cadangan baharu gencatan senjata terlalu ikut kehendak Israel - Hamas
Hamas berkata cadangan baharu itu sejajar dengan kehendak Netanyahu yang enggan menamatkan perang dan mengundurkan tentera Israel dari Gaza.
1.8 peratus penduduk Gaza maut sejak serangan Israel pada 7 Okt - Data rasmi
Kira-kira 1.8 peratus atau lebih daripada 39,000 orang telah terbunuh dalam serangan Israel di Gaza sejak 7 Okt 2023.
Tentera Israel bom universiti di bandaraya Gaza, musnahkan bangunan kampus
Israel telah musnahkan 117 buah sekolah dan universiti, rosakkan 332 lagi dan bunuh 107 saintis, profesor universiti dan penyelidik.
Pembunuhan Ismail Haniyeh: Israel sedang bergerak ke arah kegelapan – Briged al-Qassam
Briged al-Qassam berkata, tindakan pembunuhan itu membawa Isreal menuju ke lembah kegelapan, dan mempercepatkan keruntuhan rejim itu.