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| Lest we forget what we are fighting... |
Somehow the conversation always turns around to Trump these
days. And usually in the most negative of ways. It almost doesn’t matter how
the conversation starts out. Somewhere along the way someone will say ‘Trump’ and
that ends up taking up the lion’s share of the conversation.
I can’t say I’m surprised by that. During the election campaign
Trump just about sucked up all the air in the room. I do not recall any
candidate in American history getting such media coverage. Most of it negative.
And for good reason. His rhetoric inspired it. It caused me to vote against a
candidate whose stated views favored Israel a lot more than any of his Presidential
predecessors; and all of his Democratic opponents. That kind of talk heard from
the Trump campaign was never heard before by any major party candidate for
President. However, I voted for his opponent. Because I believed that he was the
most unqualified candidate for President in American history.
And yet the vast majority of Orthodox Jews voted for him. I
can only guess at the reason for what to me is a most perplexing phenomenon.
The hatred for Mrs. Clinton and her former boss at ‘State’ (i.e. the ex
President) was so strong, they would have voted for an alley cat before they
voted for her. They viewed Obama as the most anti Israel President in American history
and saw Clinton following in his footsteps. That too is shocking since that was
patently untrue.
I really don’t understand that. Even after the terrible deal
with Iran, that horrible vote allowed by Obama in the UN, and the money he
quickly tried to funnel over to the Palestinian Authority just before he left
office. Yes, even with that, he was clearly not anti Israel considering the unprecedented
financial, military, and intelligence aid he gave them. I guess that is how
so many Orthodox Jews saw him. But I digress. Back to Trump.
My fears seem to have been justified. At least so far. (It’s
early. Perhaps Trump will settle down after a while. One can hope.)
How are we to react to one of the President’s first acts? He
issued an executive order to temporarily ban (120 days) all refugees coming
from 7 Muslim countries the Obama administration connected to terrorism. I don’t think the answer
is as simple as the ACLU, the mainstream media and all the massive protests across
the country make it out to be
First let me state the obvious. I agree that there should be
no religious test for refugees entering the country. Humanitarian concerns
should be the first consideration of a country known for its kindness. And certainly
the vast majority of Muslims fleeing a country like Syria qualify for that
concern. Many European countries – most notably Germany - have opened their doors
wide open to these people giving them a refuge from the terror they experienced
at home.
But what about the security issue? The fear of a terrorist infiltrating
the ranks of these refugees is real. One cannot discount the distinct possibility
that a terrorist who looks and acts like a Muslim refugee can slip right through the vetting process as it
stands. And as virtually all counter terrorism agencies constantly remind us,
all it takes is one.
One terrorist can come in along with thousands of legitimate
refugees - and then one fine day show up at a crowded mall or well attended
celebration and blow himself up; or start shooting indiscriminately at people; or
drive a truck into a crowd of innocent people. One terrorist! … and many innocent
people die. Just as has been the case in European countries and this country. So
many times!
Many people point to the fact that there is no evidence that
any of those attacks were done by a someone allowed in as a refugee. I’m not so
sure about that. But even if that’s true, there is little doubt about the
Islamist ideology that motivates them. In just about every case of terror - the terrorist was a Muslim inspired by Islamist
Jihadist propaganda. In almost all cases they picked up that ideology in travels
back to those countries and hooking up with Jihadist clerics. Or they picked it
up on terrorist internet sites. It is therefore not unreasonable to be especially
cautious when allowing Muslims into the country. It is Islam that spawned the Islamism
and the resultant terrorism. That cannot and should not be ignored.
There are of course those like the ACLU and others who ignore
all that and argue that this temporary ban on Muslim immigrants violates our principles.
Some have even compared it to Jews seeking refuge from the Nazis before and
during the Holocaust.
That comparison is odious in the extreme! While there may be
some similarities, the situations are not the same. There were no Jews asking
asylum whose coreligionists were screaming ‘God is great’ while blowing
themselves up in a crowd of innocent people. There was on the other hand the systematic murder of thousands
of Jews even before the ‘Final Solution’ and certainly after. And yet the
American people of that time did not raise much of a protest (if there were any
at all) about the St. Louis being turned away or the refusal by the government to grant entry to Jewish refugees from Europe even as immigration quotas remained
unfilled! There was instead a national apathy for ‘The Jews’. Without a word of
protest against FDR and his State department which was responsible for immigration
and humanitarian gestures towards refugees.
This is not to say that Trumps executive order temporarily barring
Muslims into the country will assure our safety. As noted there are plenty of home grown
potential terrorists that are inspired by ISIS on line. It is mostly from their
ranks that terrorists have arisen in this country But at least one possible
source of it has been reduced.
The hue and cry by those protesting and the media focus on
it is unprecedented. The way it should have been during the Holocaust. The anti
Trump backlash on this issue never materialized against FDR when he allowed his
State department to ignore the humanitarian pleas to help the Jewish people of Europe escape literal genocide.
This is not to say that the current concern of the protesters is not
legitimate. If it was right to do so during the Holocaust, it is also right to
do it now. Even though as noted the two cases are not the same, it is only a matter
of degree.
But I can’t help but notice who it is protesting the
loudest. These are the same people that supported the UN resolution condemning
Israel; the deal with Iran; gay marriage;
abortion on demand; oppose school choice
and see Israel as an Apartheid state. In other words the political left, the
ACLU, and ‘progressive’ clergy (including progressive rabbis) with an unrelenting
Trump hating mainstream media coverage sympathetic to the left.
The protests are huge. But at most they represent only one half
of the country. Not the half that voted for Trump since he is
doing exactly what he promised he would. It should also not be lost on anyone that England just voted to leave
the European Union (Brexit) primarily for the following reason: to stop the flow of
refugees from Muslim countries.
The real fear all of these progressives have is not about denying refugees
their refuge. It is the fear that all the cherished ‘American’ (read: liberal) values
achieved over the last eight years will be overturned. Overturned by conservatives whose values they see as anathema to their ‘enlightened’ humanistic values. Which they believe to be far superior to the archaic views of the religious right that comprises much of
the conservative base. Trump’s executive order was just a trigger (and excuse)
to hold yet another protest against this man. That he is such an incompetent
disgusting boor gives them cover. They are after all only standing up for the American value of compassion against ‘bigot’!
One might surmise from these words that I support what the President did. I
do not. I would have done things a bit differently. Like slowing down the
process with the kind extreme vetting Trump referred to later in his campaign.
Certainly I would have allowed for certain carefully selected exceptions. Like
those Muslims that have worked with us to combat Islamist terrorism.
The bottom line is, though, that there is no inherent right
of anyone to enter this country’s borders. That I supported many US governors that
closed their state’s door is not the same thing as not allowing them into the
country at all. (Nor do I recall any protests about it when these governors did
it.) Immigrants enter our borders by virtue
of this country’s immigration laws. Why
are Muslims being picked on? Does that question really need to be asked?
