The law of shame that defies Jewish values

Immigration to Israel is central to sustaining the Jewish majority and thereby the identity of the state. To encourage Jews to flock to Israel's shores, the government must reach an agreement with the Palestinians and end the occupation. There is no law or program that will entice young Jews to immigrate to Israel and encourage Israelis who left the country to return, other than ending the bloodshed and normalizing relations with the Palestinians.

This repugnant new law will not only discriminate against non-Jews, but further deepen the divide between the liberally enlightened Jew who believes in equality and human rights to all citizens of the state, and those who want to preserve the Jewish exclusiveness of the country. They ignore the fact that such division will be at the expense of destroying the Jews' bond with one another, both among Israelis and between Israelis and their counterparts in the Jewish diaspora.

One would think that the torturous history of the Jews that culminated in the Holocaust would have taught every Israeli the importance of treating others humanely. Instead, it appears that those who endorse this despicable law, Netanyahu and company, care less about the rights of anyone else that does not belong to their ilk and cover that by falsely invoking national security.

Netanyahu, Lieberman, Bennett, Shaked, and many others should ask themselves the simple question: what kind of a nation should Israel be in 10, 15, or 20 years from now? Do they want to continue to build on Israel's remarkable achievements in science, technology, medicine, and just about every field of human endeavor, and make Israel a formidable and respected power embraced by its friends and envied by its enemies?

Or do they want a state marred in ruthless occupation, hated and violently resisted by its nemeses, resented by its friends, and scorned by fellow Jews who no longer see it as representative of their values? A country that has lost its pioneering spirit, with a demoralized citizenry, increasingly isolated, surrounded by walls and fences, constantly threatened, never realizing a day of real peace, and living by the gun?

This deplorable new law forfeits the Jews' dream of having a real democratic state in which they take pride; a just and benevolent state at peace with itself and its neighbors, a state the world would admire for its magnificent achievements and contribution to the betterment of human kind.

This is not a pipedream; Israel could have become such a state. It has all the human and material resources and the power to travel the path of peace with confidence, had it not been for its corrupt leaders who have long since lost the vision of Israel's founders, who dreamed about such a home with pride.