Netanyahu: 'Infiltrators' don't have same right to enter as Jews

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed his attacks on non-Jewish “infiltrators” yesterday evening, speaking at a Likud conference in Tel Aviv.

According to Arutz Sheva, Netanyahu linked the new Jewish nation-state law to the issue of non-Jewish African migrants (“infiltrators”) and efforts made by his government to prevent their entry.

“The infiltrator problem is an extremely difficult and painful one. We need to ensure the welfare of those who are needy. It is inconceivable that a woman who lives on the fourth floor should not be able to leave her home because she’s afraid, and there are filth and crime in the stairwell,” he said.

#JewishImmigration

Netanyahu claimed that the issue of non-Jewish migrants was “one of the reasons why I pushed the Nationality Law forward”, stating that the law “creates a balance for the claims that there are unlimited rights”.

“You cannot claim that infiltrators have the same right to enter Israel as Jews. A Jewish and democratic state means that we ensure a Jewish majority.”

The prime minister told delegates: “We already removed nearly 20,000 infiltrators from Israel’s borders, and we will continue to do so via legislation and appropriate and effective diplomatic channels.”

The nation-state law was passed in July and declared that: “Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it.” The law also demoted the status of Arabic from an official language of the State of Israel to one with “special status”.

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The law was lambasted by many inside Israel, with Israel’s minority Druze community calling the law a “betrayal” and several Palestinian MKs resigning. Prominent Israeli figures also condemned the law, with best-selling author Yuval Noah Harari refusing an honour by the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles in protest. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was also critical of the law, allegedly saying he would sign the document in Arabic.

Of Israel’s 8.9 million population, 1.8 million (20.9 per cent) are Palestinian Arabs. A further half million (4.7 per cent) belong to other minority communities, all of whom are affected by the bill.

Forced deportation of African asylum seekers by Israel – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]