A Time For Mourning And Clarity – But Not For Scapegoating
Nov 17, 2015
[[{"fid":"1322","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"NY The Jewish Week","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":""},"type":"media","attributes":{"alt":"NY The Jewish Week","style":"height: 74px; width: 400px; margin: 5px; float: right;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]In a November 17, 2015 op-ed for The Jewish Week, Mark Hetfield writes that, "as Americans and as Jews, we all stand united in our condemnation of these monstrous acts of terror and of the mass murderers who committed them."
However, "I am also disheartened to see politicians citing these tragic events as a reason to put safe haven further out of reach for refugees. The world needs to stay focused on fighting terrorism and hatred, not on building walls of brick and paper to keep refugees out," he writes.
"HIAS was able to rescue thousands of Soviet Jews from the persecution of an anti-Semitic regime because, even at the height of the cold war, Americans stood by their promise to welcome and protect the refugee. They understood that Jews who had suffered at the hands of a cruel regime were not the enemy, and bore their former nation no allegiance. I am hopeful that Americans will once again have the wisdom to recognize the difference between persecuted and persecutor, between refugee and enemy," Hetfield says.
Click here to read the full piece over at The Jewish Week.
