Saving Syrians

No one in Israel who has been following recent news can have a dry eye. We have made the decision to rescue 100 Syrian orphaned children and bring them to safety in the land of their “enemy”… us.

Without living fathers and mothers, abandoned by the protection of the Syrian government, the Jewish State of Israel has opened its heart and hands to welcome these young children.

During the years of Syria’s on-going civil war, more than two thousand Syrian citizens were treated in Israeli hospitals. The wounded have been healed. Pregnant mothers delivered their Muslim babies in Jewish hospitals. All at no charge. The Jewish soul understands only too well the meaning of humanity and humaneness.

These 100 Syrian orphans will be given refuge in the homes of Israeli Arabs where the language spoken will be understood. The children will be granted permanent resident status and, if they later choose, can remain in Israel for the rest of their lives.

Unlike some European countries which provide shelter and asylum for refugees fleeing the battle zones, these young Syrian saved children will not live in tents. Rather they will become part of a loving Israeli Arab society which wants them and will welcome them.

No dry eyes here. Tears well up with immense pride in our government’s decision to rescue these orphans. How many non-Jewish homes were opened to persecuted Jewish children during the years of the Holocaust? Millions of Jewish children were murdered in the gas chambers and ovens built by Christian Nazis. Too few were welcomed into Christian homes.

Every heart and soul in Israel must beat with pride. Forgetting for the moment news of a possible indictment for criminal activity of our Prime Minister, whether true or not, it is the main topic of discussion in Israeli cafes today. Let that talk be abandoned for today. Rather let us all drink a l’chayim in honor of our government’s decision to save Syrian orphans from death.

We have so very much to be proud of. Pride that we are Jews living in a free and caring Jewish homeland.

And hopefully these orphans will grow to be healthy adults and will repay our kindness by contributing their best efforts to the welfare of our nation and its people
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Bruchim ha ba-im l’Yisrael yeladim ha yekarim. Welcome to Israel, dear children.