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Peter Braun
Born in Prague; former Skokie resident

Make Israel a True Melting Pot – a Mini America?

Good or Bad Idea for Israel?  More immigration of Non-Jews…

As an American, one of the things I love most about the US is its diversity.  Yes, there are millions of White Anglo Saxon Protestants in America; but we also have millions of Irish, Italian, German, French, and Polish Catholics, millions of Japanese, Indians, Chinese, Mexican Immigrants, and millions from almost every religion and nation on the planet.  Pretty soon, no single nationality will dominate America.  America is about as diverse as a country can get; which requires it to be a true democracy–or a true Democracy when lobbyists, corporations, and changing voting boundaries don’t usurp the democratic process.

If massive diversity is what tends to make America a special country, should Israel consider making herself into a sort of mini America?   Instead of being predominantly a Jewish country, should Israel allow for the immigration of Christians into the country, along with immigration of Hindus and Buddhists; and allow for immigration from every country on the planet?

Quotas could be set to not allow more than half a million emigrants from any one religion or any one nation, to help preserve a Jewish majority.   However, the more Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and other religious immigrants Israel has, the more diluted anti-Israel elements of the country become.  Israel would have an influx of technology experts, laborers, scientists, professionals, chefs of other cuisines; experts in many fields, and best of all, greater diversity.  Perhaps, as a more diverse country, boycotting would diminish, and discrimination against Israel would lessen.

America has always been considered a land of opportunity, making it magnetic as a place the entire world thinks about coming to.  Israel is probably super magnetic as the place with the greatest spiritual and religious pull on the planet.  Anyone and everyone who wishes to be closer to the world’s spiritual epicenter might wish to emigrate to Israel. Israel also has amazing health care, which would spur many immigrants to desire to live in Israel.  Would this large increase in the Israeli population be a good thing?   I, for one, think so.

America tends to be a Christian Protestant country;  however, its Catholic population is also huge;  Its Jewish population is about as large as Israel’s, and her Buddhist and Hindu populations and Muslim populations have grown by leaps and bounds over the past few decades.    As a white Anglo nation, it also has 50 – 60 million Hispanic Americans, 30-45 million African Americans, and about 20 million Asian Americans.  We are truly an amazing melting pot.

Should Israel also consider trying to become a truer melting pot?  Would doing so help the country?  Would learning directly from other nations and religions, living side by side, improve the overall quality of life in Israel?  Would Israel become far more respected in admired?   Would massive immigration make Israel more of a light to other nations?   I am just trying to be a problem solver.  I am not sure what all the negative ramifications of this course of action would include.  I am almost certain that there would be some positive ramifications.   What are your thoughts on this idea?
Peter Braun

About the Author
Born in Prague of the Czech Republic. Moved to the U.S. in 1968, during the Czech Spring. The son of two Holocaust Survivors, orphans, who worked in healthcare or science. I have a brother who is a Klezmer musician in Chicago. I studied creative writing during college at Northwestern University in Evanston. For my career, I have mainly worked in IT, as a desktop publisher, database publisher, and intranet web publisher. For writing, I have written user manuals, help files, and training manuals.
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