Israel Needs More Israelis, Whoever They Are

Immigrants are a source of strength and progress for a country. The United States was built into the strong and innovative nation that it is by immigrants. Families who have lived in a country for generations often find life too easy and lose their drive for success. Immigrants tend to be hungry and hard working. The recent anti-immigration attitude by exremists in the USA has had a negative effect on our American economy. The State of Israel did a miraculous ingathering and assimilation of Jews from all over the world who spoke various languages and came from various cultures during its early years. Since then most of the rest of us have been comfortable staying where we are. Although some purists might want the rest of us to come over, it won't happen. Now, Israel needs immigrants from wherever, Jewish or not. The foreign workers who speak Hebrew and their assimilated children who grew up in Israel but don't happen to be Jewish should stay in Israel if they want to. This should be done for the sake of Israel to keep Israel strong. Everything possible should be done to assimilate Moslem and Christian Israeli Arabs and to encourage Israeli Jews to accept them as equals. Every effort should be made to assimilate African refugees and put them to work. Israel is predominantly Jewish, and will more likely stay that way if you don't worry so much about it. Just look at us? We Jews/Hebrews are a racially and culturally diverse group of people who are not all necessarily religious Jews but share a common history. If other people come to share that history by assimilating into the Israeli culture and language, then are they so different than our Hebrew, Polish, Spanish, Roman, and myriad other ancestors who also joined us (in the olden days through the Jewish religion)? Of course Israel is a small country and has to set limits on immigration, but the Negev is still big and needs to be developed. Narrow minded people like Eli Yishai, Israel's interior minister, who seems to think that any non-Jewish immigrant threatens Israel's integrity, do not do Israel a service. In fact they themselves are Israel's greatest threat. Israel needs a miraculous immigration and assimilation policy like the one it did in the early years of the ingathering, but now for anyone who can offer a service to Israel.