The fact that Jewish groups are in favor of amnesty for illegal immigrants is about as newsworthy as a report that the sun rose in the east today. But the wording of a letter organized by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and sent by over 100 Jewish organizations to President Obama and Congress bears mentioning.
Specifically, it notes that “American Jews know too well the impact of restrictive immigration policies.”
The Immigration Restriction act of 1924 is etched in Jewish memory more than any other single event in American history. Jewish activists routinely blame the law for Jews dying in the Holocaust — never mind that it was enacted long before the war.
One of the things that struck me in reviewing Paul Gottfried’s War and Democracy was that his father “would go speechless with rage if someone suggested that Jews were morally required to support a porous border with Latin America because a ship of German Jews had not been allowed into the U.S. in 1940.” This attitude, which is utterly commonplace in the Jewish community, shows no concern for the interests of other Americans. Only Jewish interests matter. Old historical grudges, no matter how unreasonable, must never be forgotten. Why not focus on the good aspects of the Jewish experience in America—the dramatic decline in anti-Semitism after World War II, and the rise of Jews to elite status all the important areas of American society?
The main theme of my review is the hostility of Jews toward the traditional people and culture of America. Several examples of such hostility are noted in the review. They are easy to come by and are entirely within the mainstream of the American Jewish community. Needless to say, however, the letter is phrased in terms of the loftiest moral sentiments: “Our views are shaped by our Jewish religious and ethical traditions, as well as our own history in this country and by core American values. The commandment to ‘welcome the stranger’ is mentioned 36 times throughout the Torah, more than any other commandment.” While these same organizations would doubtless endorse the idea that Israel’s immigration laws must ensure that Israel remain a Jewish state (e.g., by not allowing displaced Palestinians the right to return to their land), they have no sympathy for the idea that America’s immigration laws should reflect the interests of its White, Christian majority (see also “Jewish groups oppose Arizona-type immigration laws except Israel“).
Besides hatreds fueled by historical grudges, the other emotion fueling Jews is fear that White Americans would assert their ethnic interests:
American Jews know too well the impact of restrictive immigration policies [again the historical grudge], and we have seen how the immigration issue can become a flashpoint for xenophobia. We are concerned the failure of national leaders to fix the broken immigration system has fueled racist, nativist, and extremist groups who blame immigrants for our country’s problems, and has been a central factor in the spread of state and local policies and laws that legalize discrimination against immigrants.
The cure for xenophobia is legalizing illegals? It’s far more likely that the massive invasion—legal and illegal — feeds xenophobia and that the cure would be an immigration moratorium. But for these Jewish organizations, the way to fix the fears of White Americans that they are being displaced and squeezed out of the labor market is to bring in yet more immigrants.
The letter closes with a plea for expanding legal immigration and shortening the path to full citizenship. It also emphasizes family reunification and admitting more refugees and asylum seekers. These points emphasize two aspects of the traditional Jewish attitude on immigration to the U.S.:
- Maximize the total number of immigrants; in the immediate after math of the passage of the 1965 law that removed the bias toward Western Europe, Jewish immigration activists switched to focus on maximizing total numbers. (See here, p. 291)
- Promote the idea that immigrants not be chosen for their ability to make an economic contribution to the U.S. The assumption is that, apart from those who are “dangerous or a threat to national security,” all immigrants in whatever numbers have a positive impact on the society as a whole (see previous link, p. 277-278). Family reunification, which has been a bedrock Jewish attitude at least since the 1940s (see previous link, p. 277-278) is the basis of chain migration which has been one of the main reasons why numbers of immigrants has skyrocketed.
It’s apparent that despite the lofty rhetoric, the entire organized Jewish community sees liberal immigration policy as a Jewish ethnic interest. This is ethnic hardball, pure and simple, motivated by fear and loathing of White America. Such policies are a consensus view among American Jews. Their position has been the same for 100 years, and there is not one Jewish organization that opposes these policies.
And given the effectiveness with which Jews as a wealthy, intelligent, and highly organized group have pursued their interests in the U.S. (see above link), the results have been disastrous for the traditional people and culture of America.
