TLS recently reported that Joint Base Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst would be used to temporarily house Afghan refugees being airlifted out of the country by the US military with the Taliban now in control of the country.
To be honest, I was sadly shocked to see some of the responses to the news. People have been calling the resettlement of Aghans in the United States the worst decision Biden has ever made and is evidence that his administration hates America. People have been calling the incoming Afghans murderers, terrorists, and every other negative term that can be imagined.
It’s wrong, and truthfully, it shows the lack of understanding so many Americans have of affairs that occur outside of their little bubbles.
For one, the Afghans coming to the United States are not terrorists; these are people who made it possible for the US to successfully beat back the Taliban, which gave safe harbor to Osama bin Laden. These are people who we should be thanking rather than painting them as evil.
Of course, people coming from Afghanistan have to be vetted to make sure they are not terrorists. But that’s what the United States has been doing for years – vetting these people, over and over.
Secondly, where is our compassion? These are people fleeing from a radical Islamist regime for a better life in America. May I remind you that Jews were in the same position as many of these people just a few decades ago?
Back when the Nazis were beginning their campaign to wipe out European Jewry, massive numbers of Jews wanted to escape to America. But the US put on an immigration limit, and many were turned away to be killed by the Nazis.
The immigration rules of the US in the late 1930s and early 1940s is a dark stain on American history, and Jews are still rightfully upset about it – it caused the deaths of an untold number of their brothers and sisters.
Now, as Afghans run for their lives from the evil Taliban, how can we close our hearts to them? Did we already forget the lesson from the Holocaust – to save refugees when you have the chance? Where is our heart, our care for fellow human beings?
devorim pshutim !!!
the Jews came to brooklyn new york which is full of possibilities and they took up skills and industries in every area while here and now the government is confining them to the base and not networking them with job opportunities and not providing access to basic education and that can bring frustration and potentially worse problems if the gov’t really wants to help it needs to get them out of the base to work and to study to succeed
You don’t really believe the refugees will be permanently resettled on an army base, do you?
Um… except we are seeing clips of first come and climb on airplane, first serve. Doesn’t look like much vetting going on in the chaotic scenes in Kabul. Perhaps thats why people are nervous. Obviously, we would all welcome with open arms those Afghanis that allied and assisted the US govt. Insinuating that people are racist by not mentioning what their hesitations are is very disingenuous.
By the time people get near the planes, they have had to show their documents multiple times. The planes are then landing in Europe and the Middle East where additional vetting can be done before departing to the U.S. Hope this helps you feel better.
How can we trust the vetting was done thoroughly ? A Taliban leader was freed from Guantanamo Bay saying he was a simple shoemaker. How do we know that we aren’t letting in sleeper cell members that can be a time bomb? Let’s not forget about 9/11 either and how those responsible entered the USA.
You said you were “sadly shocked”. I’m sad. Not shocked.
Ever since the rise (and even after the fall) of Donald Trump, his followers’ anti immigrant rhetoric shows them as being כפוי טוב.
I’ve heard it about Syrian refugees too. And I wish I wouldn’t be “cancelled” in Lakewood for being pro immigrant.
Because I’ve had my Judaism questioned when expressing pro immigration sentiments, hence my anonymity.
It’s not anti -immigrant as much as it’s anti-skip-the-waiting-in-line-like-a-mentsch-just-come-in-from-the-back-door mentality….just curious from all the speeches Trump gave about immigration was it about legal or illegal immigration….?
I agree with the OP.
We have an opportunity to save a life, don’t waste it.
As a society we are becoming to comfortable with others suffering as long as it’s not us, these people need our help- let’s help them.
We’re a compassionate people in a compassionate country.
Please don’t compare to Nazi Germany. It is quite insensitive.
Um, can you stop claiming status with how we wer treated by Nazis?
I think people fleeing for their lives due to physical threat of death or torture pretty much qualifies as “like the nazis”.
Poor comparison. The taliban isn’t prepping to murder their population. True, they will abuse them via sharia law, but plz don’t compare my grandparents being in a concentration camp, their siblings murdered/gassed etc. to this situation.
I feel terrible for them and think we need to be a shining light onto nations with compassion, but seriously, POOR COMPARISON.
cmon. obviously these people are in danger of being killed since they`ve been helping the usa for the past 20 years. don’t be so stupid and cold hearted. as they say, common sense is uncommon
It’s an excellent comparison. The Taliban is already going house to house torturing and killing Christians and American allies and taking their young daughters.
We don’t have a monopoly on suffering.
The writer is totally wrong on many points we won’t go in to all of it. But two of the many differences is 1 they are bringing them here so they could flip this district and that’s more of reason of concern that they will bring anybody. 2 the majority of crimes in the immigrant freindly country’s come from the immigrants and the majority of those crimes are Afghan imigrants.
There you go again. What exactly makes you think that Afghan immigrants will be eager to vote for Democrats after this horror show?
biden sure thinks so
I’m not sad or shocked. Yes many of them are refugees and have helped the us in the past. But are there measures being taken to a) know the mindset of these refugees b) make sure that no terrorists are slipping in alongside them. Also our TORAH is a peaceful way of life. The Jews have always promoted and seeked peace while their Quran promotes murder and calls for the murder of Jews. So can you blame those that are skeptical.
Kudos to the article and writer. I strongly mirror the sentiments.
Strangely, our community has over time become the hard right. Over the years we stopped viewing events through a prism of our own history and previous struggles.
This generation has been blessed with more materialism, influence, and comfort then previous generations, and we have become elites in our own way.
We are an incredible, kind, and generous community but tend to look increasingly inwards and have a growing lack of empathy for “others” – particularly refugees it seems.
Average guy sneered at Gov. Murphy’s decision to welcome Afghans facing near certain death and persecution in their home country. Afghans who only made it onto flights through an arduous SIV process, and after years and sacrifice helping the United States.
Sure, we have grown a broad sense of suspicion and mistrust, based on religion and culture, which has been fomented for the most part by years of the Arab/Israeli conflict and global terrorism in general.
But as the writer rightfully notes, the way we read accounts of WWII refugee caps, ships turned away at ports, and the American publics’ indifference to the plight of European Jewry during the 1930’s & 1940s with rage and bewilderment, should give us pause and rethink where our moral and compassionate posture is today – and where has it gone.
The images of thousands desperately trying to flee, babies being passed over razor wire, and the tears and terror of mothers and young girls should have roused even the most cynical and hard right politicos among us.
We like to refer to ourselves as “a light unto nations” – a title we both earn and honor for the most part, but we are seeming to be lacking some in the present.
Look, no ones asking for a ChesedFund campaign or your guest bedroom, but let’s be a little more compassionate, caring, and take it easy on the hot political takes. It’s okay, I think your grandparents would understand.
Could agree more with your post sir. Before I even reached the end of the post , the first thing that came to mind is the dark stain on this country when the United States sent so many Jewish refugees back to Europe, essentially sentencing them to death and the vile hands of the Nazis. Of course everyone needs to be vetted. They need to be thoroughly looked into to make sure that they are not losing any threat to our beautiful country. Housing them in bases u til they can be properly vetted and then found homes and jobs they may suit their skill set is ever so important too, and that will take time. And though some may not have skills , that should not preclude them from being refugees. Again, how many millions of Jews and others died at the hands of Nazis because they were unskilled.
This is not a perfect system by any means and the government must do their due diligence. But I hope our country has learned from their mistakes in the past when it comes to refuges.
@Elllen Jaffe-Where did you get the idea that the Afghani refugees are coming here to flip the district? They’re not able to vote; therefore, they cannot flip the district. Second, do you have any proof they most crime is Afghani immigrants? Shame on all you.
These people should be settled in other middle eastern countries. What we have to understand is that these people as sad as the situation may be, they come from a very very different culture and dont understand western society and culture They dont know how to interact with this society .By bringing in many at a time in which they form their own communities is what’s very concerning. It can 1.Be a safe haven for Terrorists.2.A place where terrorists can recruit.3 Be very unsafe for people not of that culture to go through. Look at these communities in Daerborn, Minneapolis some areas in Bk, Look at Europe! There are no go zones even for the police. This is il advised. So I go back to my first point that they should not be settled in masses here rather in a melting pot fashion were they can assimilate or in a country of their culture.
So right
I watched some clips of poor afghanis who helped America and are now trapped and doomed.
And to those living in denial, the taliban will murder these people for being “traitors.” They will murder women too for walking in public or not wanting to marry a taliban member.
The biden administration and all involvedshould be sued if anything happens due to lack of vetting.
The author is right, we have become more closed to people coming in when we should really be more open to it. But back then a lot of people couldn’t get in so easily and people were stuck in DP camps for a few years before they were able to go anywhere. Plus people were uprooted from where they lived and were rounded up and ended up having no place to go, and were stuck in a DP camp. And back then what programs of welfare were there, you had to work to support yourself. Nowadays people get turned off when you have tons of people coming here illegally and then the government let’s in a bunch of immigrants and all of them will benefit off your tax dollar without contributing at all. Plus for the reason other people wrote, that their culture was to hate America and the American way of life. But if they are vetted properly and spread out across different places, and FORCED to learn the language and be a part of society, than no problem let’s help.
as bad as the dp camps were, it’s not the same as a life being in danger
The so called rescue mission at the airport is in total chaos. Refugees are trampling others to death to get to the front. The civilian aircraft can’t get refueled because there is non, so they can’t take off. The military aircraft have to refuel midair and if the nozzle has a malfunction the plane goes down. A C-17 that runs out of fuel is basically a dead weight that is going down. What about the Americans stuck there? The Taliban is beheading them. Even doctors who helped them for years. Finally, say they are vetted and can enter the workforce, how does that help Americans get out of unemployment. How will they survive with inflation shoving prices through the roof? Our taxes have become charity with the largest share going to crooked politicians. What about the billions that the Afghani leaders fled with in their vaults and Swiss/Offshore bank accounts that we gave them on a silver platter and that they made billions off of turning the largest poppy fields in the world into Heroin. How about getting that money back into our flailing economy? Sure this is a moral dilemma but the logistics and under-the-table shenanigans on all sides, Taliban, Afghanis and Americans alike are being hidden under the magic morality carpet. Sin ghanaf.
If you dont have ammo now would be a good time to stock up
Thank you. I wrote a comment on that article expressing a similar sentiment, but it was not posted. I’m happy at least your letter got past the moderators. So sad to see what the nation of gomlei chassadim has become.
Mr. Bergman,
You forgot one thing. You are an Orthodox Jew & they are fundamental Muslims who never learned to tolerate openly religious Jews.
I have no doubt that if you would take a walk through the streets of Afghanistan through the neighborhoods of these refugees, you quite likely would end up with a slit throat. These are very religious Muslims who weren’t westernized & they typically harbor very antisemitic feelings.
I’m ok with America giving them refugee status but I don’t want them settled around Frum Jewish communities. Keep them far away from doing harm to us. Always remember that you need to think about the unique challenges we face as the Am Hanivchar.
You are right, but why bring them here at all? They should stay in the Middle East in a country friendly to us like UAE or SA.
America is already taking in thousands of immigrants from the south. Why should any of the Afigan people be brought here?? There are many countries in that region and that part of the world!!
everyone wants to be noble and welcome the refugees but the government cannot shirk it’s responsibility to be practical these are not like others escaping the slums south of the border these are ancient clans rooted in the land and its resources and bounties and to bring them to tents before the winter is like creating a concentration camp if Mr. Murphy is serious he would be meeting with the locals and planning how to integrate these communities into existing cities [they will probably not touch the army rations because they are not kosher according to islam] so the top priority is integration which means job fairs, rent subsidies, college tuition credits, vocational training and of course social counseling. if Mr. Biden is realistic he would recruit more trainers at the bases or outsource to a professional company who can do most of it otherwise the refugees will not be able to handle the switch from homely comfort to tents and barracks, from occupation to boredom, and from roaming the countryside to military confinement
Thank you for stating what so many of us feel. Unfortunately people seemed to have lost sense of right or wrong and instead just regurgitate what they hear on talk radio. We are better than that.
I support wholeheartedly bringing them here as we too were strangers. Tikkun olam is a mitzva. Lakewood is not very diverse to begin with so I believe we can learn from these long suffering refugees.
It’s very nice for e/o to say we have to have rochmanus because we are also immigrants. That’s very true. But when the yidden were trying to get in they needed a sponsor, someone that was claiming to take responsibilty for the expenses they will incur. and after the war it many time took Years and Years for them to get a visa. My grandparent had 3 children in the DP camp before managing to enter the u.s.
How can u compare what’s happening in Afghanistan to Holocaust Europe???are they being systematically murdered