By Joel H. Cohen
NEW YORK — Of all the current emotional walls against allowing central and south American refugees entry into the United States, one stands out for me: the opposition by so many Jews to even testing the applicants about whether they qualify to enter our land of immigrants.
Of all peoples, we Jews should be in the forefront of those promoting help to men, women and children literally running for their lives
The principle is certainly in our history, maybe even our genes. The impulse dates back to Biblical days, when patriarch Abraham was celebrated for his hospitality.
Even now, our Pesach Haggadah reminds us to “be kind to strangers, for we were strangers in Egypt.”
Later, of course, we were strangers in a great many other places too.
A long-time friend of mine (who just passed away at a late age), was a teenage passenger on the ill-fated St. Louis (the “Ship of Fools”) along with his younger sister and his mother. They could see and exchange waves with his father, who had preceded them out of Europe and was on a boat in Havana harbor. But they couldn’t join him then, as Cuba and, soon after, the United States would not allow the St. Louis to dock. The ship returned to Europe, where many of the passengers became victims of the Holocaust.
Our friend and his family were among the few lucky ones. They later were able to get out of Europe and come to the United States, settling on Staten Island. Too many others were not that fortunate.
Earlier, if my own grandparents and parents had not been allowed into the United. States, our family would have been added to the Six Million. Most of you undoubtedly have had similar family experiences
There are those who protest, “But they came legally.”
Thank heavens that they weren’t yet so desperate, so much in danger, as are many of the current refugees, to need to seek any means of entry. And why shouldn’t we help the newcomers to a legal immigration path?
The experiences of many of our foreparents are sad reminders of the past, of course, so how to compensate?
I’m not advocating wholesale opening up the borders. Yet, as Jews especially, we should not be building walls– physical or emotional — against those running for their lives. But rather we owe it to them as well as humanity in general and. our own history, to endorse best ways to help save their endangered lives.
We Jews are expected to operate under the principle of Tikkun Olam, to do what we can to repair our imperfect world.
What could be more appropriate than helping to save those in desperate need, by welcoming them to our land of immigrants?
And if we Jews don’t do it, who then?
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Joel H. Cohen is a freelance writer based in New York City.