Opinion OTHER VIEWS Losing Demographics I sraeFs economy is strong. Its road sys- tem is amazing — new, wide highways with new bridges and others under construction. Many cities are bursting with beautiful high-rise apartments and condos. And yet, on a recent trip, I sensed a different attitude among friends and relatives. Most continue to yearn for peace but the belief that it is possible has greatly diminished. Since 9-11 and the Lebanon War, Israelis seem cautious and worried. In spite of the evidence of prosperity, com- plicated issues absorb the country. One of the prickly problems involves Israel's desire to remain a democracy and balance the needs of a slipping Jewish majority. More than 10 years ago on a Women's Mission to Israel, our group was given questions to ask our Israeli counterparts. I was paired with a sweet and attractive woman named Shosh. I learned that she had arrived in Israel as a child from an area in Transylvania. We soon discovered that she was from the same tiny town as my father. "Our grandfathers might have been close friends:' she said beaming. It was the begin- ning of a wonderful friendship. Shosh gave me a tour of her neighborhood in Nazareth Ilit (Upper Nazareth). Her com- munity in the Galilee in the north of Israel snuggles in the hills overlooking Nazareth, the town known for its Christian churches and shops run by Christian Arabs. Pointing to a lovely house amidst a flowering garden which had been recently purchased by an Arab, Shosh told me she never expected her neighborhood to include Arabs, but the family seemed to be good neighbors. We talked about the dwindling Christian population in Nazareth and other Christian centers in Israel. More and more Muslims were moving into Nazareth. Christian Arabs who could afford to buy in Nazareth Ilit were moving there; others were leaving the area. I recently returned to Nazareth Ilit and learned that the town is now 25 percent Arab. In Nazareth, a Christian school connected to a historic church has, for years, provided vocational training to needy boys. The school was built to serve Christians. Now the majority of the students are Muslims. In 2003, the High Court of Justice issued an order to the Israel Lands Administration to set aside a plot of land in the community of Katzir for an Israeli Arab family whose application to live there was rejected because they are Arabs. Jews living on a moshav or kibbutz worry about the effects of this ruling. It is startling to think that residents of a moshav or kibbutz would not have the ability to decide who would have membership rights in their communities. Even prior to 1948 and the establish- ment of the State of Israel, Jews, Arabs and Christians lived in their own communities. Some of these communities have existed side by side for decades. But the demo- graphics in Israel are changing. Israel is proud to be a democratic state; and within a democracy, people have free- dom of movement and the ability to live in any neighborhood they can afford. But Israel is also a Jewish sanctuary, a tiny spot of land where Jews can live with- out fear of discrimination. Jews wish to live peacefully with their neighbors while maintaining their specific cities, towns and other entities for themselves and future generations. In Nazareth Ilit, another friend summed it up this way: "We may not have to lose a war to lose our country. We may be losing our country one house at a time' E Jeannie Weiner is a West Bloomfield resident and former president of the Jewish Community Council of Metropolitan Detroit. Nurture Strangers Among Us New York City/JTA A s we engage in our time of col- lective Jewish reflection and take stock of the past year, one issue of social justice jumps ahead of other strong competitors: For most Jewish Americans, 5768 was the year immigration came of age. The luxury of musing about our grand- parents and great-grandparents who arrived in this country with nothing but hope and a prayer is a thing of the hazy past. We have long since established ourselves as fully integrated, high-achieving contributors to American society. It is time for us, a com- munity of successful immigrants, to focus our energies on the gritty realities of 21st . century immigration. One of this year's blessings in disguise was the federal immigration raid at the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. Though it is deplorable that our federal government — absent fair and compassionate immigration laws — chooses to regulate immigration through a policy of punitive enforcement, the wake-up call that this raid presented for our community, especially, has moved immigration and immigrants out of the shadows into the stark light of day. For the first time, Jewish Americans realized — in dramatic terms — that in A36 October 9 • 2008 fisi order to be true to the intent of humane working conditions. our traditions, kashrut must not And there is much to do. only incorporate compassionate Last year's collapse of compre- behavior toward the animals we hensive immigration reform kill, but towards those who work has left us with a broken in our slaughterhouses. system. To counter the legal The newspaper descriptions vacuum, local communities and personal accounts of the across the land are passing ad raid are emblazoned on our con- hoc ordinances aimed at taking sciences: small children separated the problem of immigration from their jailed parents; mothers into their own hands. As a Gideon with tracking devices strapped community, we need to advo- Aronoff to their ankles; workers with no cate with members of Congress Special facility in English and no detailed to pass fair and humane leg- Commentary knowledge of U.S. immigration islation so that otherwise law- law undergoing harsh interroga- abiding citizens, working to tions; under-age workers forced to slave long sustain themselves and their families, are hours for subsistence wages. not regularly threatened with deportation For many of us, it will be difficult to ever and criminal prosecution because they are enjoy a piece of meat again without wonder- undocumented. ing about the living and labor conditions of Postville offered another valuable les- the workers who brought it to our tables. son: Its tiny faith community, not rich in During the great waves of 19th century resources to begin with, stepped forward European immigration, advocates from to provide food, shelter and babysitting the established American Jewish commu- services for the nearly 400 arrested in the nity, like early HIAS volunteers — Emma raids. In areas around the country with a Lazarus among them — helped our newly high concentration of immigrants, con- arrived relatives. Today, it is our moral, ethi- gregations and social service and legal cal and spiritual responsibility to do no less aid agencies are desperate for volunteers for the newly arrived of all faiths and back- to help workers operate within the frame- grounds, who likewise need strong advocates work of the law, to offer food and clothing to protect their rights and ensure safe and to those in need, to tutor English, to care for children while their parents work and to mentor entire families. In recent years, synagogues have not only appealed to our pocketbooks during the High Holidays but to our conscience. Many of us now have the opportunity to make ethical commitments for the new year — to define and name the social action we pledge to repair our world. This year, thanks to the raid at Agriprocessors, there is a clear call to action to welcome the stranger and make certain that his world more closely resembles our world. As we enter 5769, let us build upon the knowledge gained in 5768 by making it a year that signals the end to raids as a solution to immigration problems and a beginning for a national Jewish immi- gration movement. Let us re-dedicate ourselves to the vulnerable immigrants among us and turn our energies to posi- tive action on their behalf. Let us fill an urgent need by building a sukkat ger a sheltering presence that protects and nur- tures the newest Americans. In doing so we will bring renewed honor to our relations with our fellow man, our country, and our faith. ❑ — Gideon Aronoff is president and CEO of HIAS, the international migration agency of the Jewish people.