From what I understand, the majority of Muslim refugees and migrants in the various European countries (among others) originate from Syria. They were understandably escaping a brutal Syrian civil war. Why they went to Western countries for refugee status rather than fellow Muslim countries is another question, but be that as it may, Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and others are hosting many Syrian and other refugees and their own societies are changing because of it.

A Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom has tweeted out her plan to save the Gazans in danger of war and disease and famine. Her plan is something called the Gaza Family Visa Scheme. the plan would allow Palestinians from Gaza with family members in the United Kingdom to seek temporary sanctuary in the United Kingdom until it is safe to return to Gaza.

What we still don't understand is that for every Shabbat there is a Motzei Shabbat, and I am already hearing the voices form the Ukrainian side about what will be after the smoke of the war disperses they will start with the bureaucracy, especially in regards to Uman. I only request that come Rosh Hashana time and we see scenes of many Israelis stuck in the airport in Kiev, just remember the scenes and images we are seeing now in the airport of Ben Gurion and dont scream "gevald"..

There is a big debate about what Israel should do regarding accepting Ukrainian refugees escaping the ravages of war. Taken them in. Only take in Jews. Not even Jews unless they want to make aliya. Are they really Jewish? Do they have first-degree relatives here? We cannot afford it. They will want to stay. They will never leave. the State will lose its Jewish character.

There is some crazy story happening right now with a 21 year old Israeli anti-Zionist seeking asylum in England because he wants to avoid the Israeli draft. He is seeking asylum based on on Israel being an apartheid state and how it treats the Palestinians, and he does not want to be a part of that and would prefer death over being drafted to the IDF. 

The Ministry of Defense is not transferring the money for the treatment of the Syrian refugees, despite its commitment to do so.  This is increasing the deficit if the hospitals in the north... if payment will not be arranged, retroactive as well, I will prohibit hospitals from accepting new refugee patients. I'll go crazy. Don't be a bleeding heart on my back.

  -- Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman, commenting on the 300 million nis costs involved until now in treating wounded Syrian refugees.

There is a humanitarian crisis in Syria, and whatever help can be offered should be offered, but someone has to pay for it. While sick/injured Syrians get free and immediate health care in Israel, many Israelis are destitute and sick and for them there is no money available from the government. It is important to help the Syrian victims, but if that much money is being spent on them then there should be more money available to help needy Israelis..

more on this from Global News (Canada):

Rarely has there been such an interaction of cultural, historical, and human factors as there was in this funny and emotional video which went viral across Europe this past week.
Shot from the passenger seat of 61-year-old Austrian Hans Breuer’s car, the video shows Breuer merrily singing the Yiddish folk song “Oyfn Veg Shteyt a Boym” (“A Tree Stands Off a Road”) by Itsik Manger.

Then the camera pans sideways to reveal a scene both humorous and touching: the car is full of Palestinian-Syrian refugees for whom Breuer is giving a lift, happily joining him on the song’s wordless chorus.
“Ay Bitty Bitty Boym!“ the group intones while a jaunty Breuer happily waves his finger in the air like a conductor’s wand.
While the video is touching enough in its own right, it’s the remarkable context that surrounds the clip which has made it a viral sensation and elevated it into the greater discussion about the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe.

That’s because Breuer – a Vienna resident and shepherd by trade – is Jewish, the son of parents who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930’s and became homeless refugees themselves.
“It makes me cry again and again if I think of my father, of his situation, and of other immigrants – and I put it together with these people,” Breuer told The Guardian. “Friends of my parents, Jewish people, tried to immigrate to Switzerland [before WWII], but the Swiss put them back to the Nazis at the frontier.”

In a separate interview, he says he decided to act when he saw a news report on the conditions at the government-run refugee camp in Traiskirchen, which is filled to over double its intended capacity.
“I was sick of this crime, I asked my wife whether we should do something, and that’s how it began,” Breuer told JTA last week.
So he decided to head down to the camp last August with food and water for the refugees encamped there. Having seen their living conditions first hand, he says he decided to start assisting them in their journey across Europe – one car load at a time.
Austrian police say about 1,000 new arrivals are expected soon at the main border crossing point with Hungary, after nearly 10,000 migrants trekked into the country.
Police spokesman Helmut Marban said Tuesday that most of Monday’s arrivals at the Nickelsdorf crossing east of Vienna had already been brought to emergency shelters elsewhere in the country.
He said Hungary is bringing the 1,000 people expected Tuesday to its side of the border by train.
From there, the migrants usually walk into Austria.
WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo makes dream come true for refugee boy tripped by camerawoman
This isn’t the first time Breuer has found himself in something of an international spotlight. He was the subject of the 2005 book Schlepping Through the Alps: My Search for Austria’s Jewish Past with Its Last Wandering Shepherd” , which told of his life as a roving shepherd, folk singer, and somewhat unique curator of Austrian culture.
Now he says he uses his life experience as a “wandering shepherd” to navigate the little known back roads of Austria and Hungary when ferrying refugees on one of his expeditions.
That and sing them some Yiddish folks songs as well, a genre of music he says he came to only later in life.
“This music, written by refugees for other refugees like themselves, somehow makes me think of home,” Breuer said. “It is also my hope for the refugees I help: That they find a home.”

The PM of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has said that he will be continuing to implement his plan to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year, and the attack in Paris will not alter that in any way.

All I have to say is "good luck, Canada".

last week, with the flood of refugees and migrants into Europe, there was a news item that was interesting and strange.

Refugees are being housed, seemingly for lack of other options, in Buchenwald, Dachau, and maybe other locations that were once concentration camps.
source; Ynetnews, The Guardian, and many others

This honestly aroused in me conflicting thoughts and emotions, as well as some tasteless jokes.

1. how could they put these structures to use housing refugees and migrants? They are there to remind us of the atrocities and horrors of what happened during the Holocaust? now they are being used for this, what will they be used for next time - housing for Olympic athletes or maybe the Ice Capades?
2. at least something good is being done with it. Nothing can make up for the evil done there, but perhaps some good deed like housing refugees can be some worthwhile balance and effort.
3. I understand Germany is just waiting for the shipment of Zyklon B to arrive in the mail and they can get back to their work. Everything else is already in place. It's a tasteless joke, but Germany deserves it. They always will.

Different narratives shape different memories of the 1948 War for Israelis and Palestinians. In Israel and among most Jewish communities, the war of 1948 is best known as the War of Independence - it is a day filled with joy, pride and celebration. In the Arab world, and particularly among Palestinians, the war of 1948 is known as al-Nakba (the catastrophe) - it is a day filled with sadness, humiliation and longing. This film tells the story of the war, reveals how so many people became refugees, and speculates on what is perpetuating their suffering today.

that guy at the beginning of the video speaks a pretty good Hebrew.. much better, I dare say, than many olim chadashim...

The crying of the restaurateurs with dishes in the sink does not set Israeli policy. It very much does not impress me. Let's think about the Israelis who lost their jobs..

  -- Minister of Interior Gideon Saar, about the Sudanese and Eritrean infiltrators who are protesting being evicted from Israel. Restaurateurs have shown support for them, saying they are good labor, cheap and do jobs other people don't want..

Suspected: Two Ethiopian Runners from the Jerusalem Marathon have Infiltrated into Israel

  -- Walla News

the suspicion is that these two female runners abandoned the race in the middle and disappeared, going into hiding in order to avoid having to return to Ethiopia after the race....

There have been a lot of suggestions as to how to deal with the situation of the migrants from Sudan and Eritrea flooding the neighborhoods of south Tel Aviv and elsewhere. The proportions have gotten out of hand.

A law was proposed yesterday that was approved by the ministerial committee (and now it has to go to vote in the Knesset for approval into law) that is meant to resolve the problem.

What attracts these migrants to Israel, among other things, is that there is work available. There is work that others do not want to do and employers have cheap labor by employing these migrants.

MK Ofir Akunis (Likud), with the support of a number of other MKs, proposed a law by which any employer caught employing a migrant illegally will be liable for up to 5 years in prison or liable for a fine of up to 500,000 NIS.

Will this work? Will the threat, if the law should pass, of such a heavy punishment deter employers from [illegally] employing these migrants? It depends on the level of enforcement. Minister Benny Begin, for example, opposed the law. Not because it is a bad law, but because there are already laws that impose punishments and fines on employers illegally employing migrants, but they are not enforced. There is no point in making stricter laws if they too will not be enforced.

This is a law that will be difficult to enforce. The migrants have taken to moving around a lot. Perhaps because there are so many of them, and they are now meeting up with hostility. Instead of staying in packs, they now go off, just a few at a time, and take buses to random cities and walk around looking for work. Immigration officers looking to enforce the law will not just be able to concentrate on a few areas heavily populated by the migrants, but will really have to spread out to the periphery.



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Somebody on Facebook posted the following video and it has gone viral. The video is of someone  throwing an egg at a Sudanese fellow (or maybe Eritrean or South Sudanese or whatever other African countries these migrants and refugees come from) and they laugh.




The video is a despicable display of racism. We may not want them here, we may want to send them back to their home countries or wherever else that might have the ability to take them in, but that does not give anybody the right to treat them in such a demeaning way.

Basic human rights, basic humanity, demands that we treat each person with respect. He has done nothing wrong and does not deserve to be treated like that.

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Here is an interesting debate regarding the Sudanese "refugees", or "migrant workers" in south Tel Aviv.. my comments are below the video




1. I am very impressed with this young woman's ability to confidently debate her side of the issue against Dan Almagor, a respected playwright and author, and much older man, without being intimidated by the personality opposite her.

2. At about 5 minutes in, Almagor contrasts, pretty much "out of the blue", the treatment of the Sudanese refugees with the way the haredim who dress in black but don't work are treated. He suggests that Israel would be better off with the Sudanese than with the Haredim. There is too much of a blind hatred of haredim around - they have nothing to do with the Sudanese issue. the Sudanese issue needs to find a resolution, and that has nothing to do with haredim. Involving them, when there is absolutely no connection, is just to rile people up.

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One of the sticking points in peace negotiations has always been the issue of the refugees. The Palestinians have always kept the issue of the refugees on the table insisting on the right of return, reparations and whatnot. The Israelis have retorted numerous times, though never actually raising it seriously as a tactic, that the Jewish refugee problem was far greater than that of the Palestinians. the Israelis seemed to always mean it i the sense of, we had a siilar problem, of greater proportions, yet we absorbed our refugees, rehabilitated them and turned out a productive society moving on, and the Palestinians with, perhaps, other Arab nations, should stop sticking on the refugee issue and instead move on - rehab the refugees and create a new society.

Jewish refugees in 1948

Finally the issue of Jewish refugees is being considered seriously as a negotiating tactic. Accoring to a recent Israel Hayom report, the Foreign Ministry is recommending to raise the issue during all future rounds of negotiations.

The Jewish refugees referred to in the report are Jews who fled from Arab nations in 1948 and were forced to leave their possessions behind before arriving in the newly established state of Israel.


This issue aims to counter the Palestinian Right of Return, under which the Palestinians wish to compel Israel to absorb Palestinian refugees and restore the property they left behind when they were forced to flee during the 1948 Independence War and in the Six-Day War in 1967.


The report, commissioned by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, includes recommendations for rehabilitating Palestinian refugees where they currently reside, much like Israel rehabilitated Jews who fled from Arab countries.


According to the report: “The phenomenon of perpetuating the refugee condition must end immediately; rehabilitating the refugees inside their destination countries will help reduce the demand for the Right of Return during core issue peace talks. Regardless, the Right of Return that many (Palestinian) refugees insist upon is to be granted on the condition they return only to within the borders of the future Palestinian state, which would be created as a result of a peace agreement.”


The Foreign Ministry report also recommended raising the issue of compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab countries within the framework of future peace talks. The compensation would be provided through an international fund, which would be established in accordance with proposals from former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000 and the U.S. Congress in 2008. This fund would aid in rehabilitating refugees where they currently reside, including retroactively assisting countries that have already invested in rehabilitating refugees, such as Israel and Jordan. The fund would also deal with the considerable amounts of Jewish property in Arab countries. To promote these issues Ayalon has planned a public diplomacy campaign, which is to include aiding like-minded non-governmental organizations.


The report further states that 856,000 Jews from Arab countries were uprooted from their homes, compared to 800,000 Arabs from Israel (within the Green Line). Ayalon explained that approximately half of Israel’s citizens have parents or grandparents who came from Arab countries. Therefore, within the framework of possible future peace negotiations, all aspects of these issues must be addressed. Meanwhile, Jewish property in Arab countries is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.

I am just not sure how the Palestinians are to be held responsible for the fact that the Saudis, Iraqis, Egyptians, Syrians, Tunisians, Algerians, Moroccins, and other host countries kicked out their Jews. Unless it is a general peace made with the entire Arab world, that is, but otherwise, while I love the idea,

I just don't see how the claim counters the demand. The Palestinians will demand refugee status, and the Israelis will demand the same in return - to which the Palestinians can simply say fine by us, go to Iraq, to Egypt, to wherever and ask them for refugee status and reparations for lost property.

Just a month ago, MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari and Itamar Ben Gvir brought a group of 50 Sudanese refugees from South tel Aviv to Ramat Aviv, North Tel Aviv, exclusive swimming pool for a day of fun. They paid each refugee 50 NIS, along with sponsoring their entrance fee and a bathing suit, and brought them to enjoy a day of swimming.

The idea was to show how the leftists want to protect the refugees, but only "over there" in South Tel Aviv, but they would be hypocritically racist when the refugees would show up in their neighborhoods. The stunt worked, and the locals all bolted from the pool when the refugees showed up. The refugees had a fun time, and the leftists tried turning it around and complaining that Ben-Ari had made cynical use and took advantage of the poor refugees.

Now, the leftists of North Tel Aviv have filed a complaint against MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir and want them to stand trial for taking advantage of the refugees in their cynical use in creating a provocation by the swimming pool.

The complaint says that their creating a private army in South Tel Aviv puts every Sudanese refugee in danger and automatically turns each one into a suspect.

They go on and on in their complaint about the provocation, the cynical use and taking advantage of these poor refugees, the discrimination, and various other ways that the trio flaunt the law.

In response, Ben-Gvir said that after the successful swimming lesson in the Gordon Pool, I would be happy to teach a course in democracy to the leftists for free. Without even waiting for the Knesset, Peace Now had already created a Facebook page calling for a boycott of products made in the settlements.

Baruch Marzel added that you can always count on the Left to display their hypocrisy. While crying out for the freedom of expression of the enemy, they try to shut the mouths of the Right who conduct legitimate actions. In the Gordon Pool we exposed the hypocrisy of the Left, and because of that they are frustrated. (source: NRG)

These guys can always be counted on to keep it interesting!