Although the decision represents a reduction from the 1,200 originally slated for expulsion, opponents of the move, such as Meretz chair, Haim Oron, argue that the number is still 400 too many:
(translated from the Meretz party website)
“There has to be a government policy on immigration and on foreign workers. Don’t give us this false ‘dilemma’ between humaneness and Zionism. What damage is being done to Zionism? These 400 children – what are they doing? … Are they diluting Jewish identity here? Are they disrupting demographic balance?
“Where’s the reasoning? Where’s the compassion [“Hochmat HaLev”, literally “wisdom of the heart”]? The wisdom of the heart is a central facet in Judaism. Wisdom – and heart. Stop all these awful spectacles …Let them live here.
“Again and again… we’ll see on the internet about another boy or girl who speak a level of Hebrew we should envy, who say: ‘We want to be here. This is our home’…
“Yes, I know they’re not members of [the Jewish] people, and that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I’m for a Jewish state [in Israel] …, but when you go and take this argument to the extreme, I lose the confidence that you truly want a Jewish and democratic state.
“Just use the wisdom of the heart. Let them stay here. Let their parents stay here. And start implementing a real policy, one that has clear criteria regarding the entire question of migrant workers.”
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