http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/us/23kosher.html?ex=1377230400&en=6c0c5959150d59c8&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/opinion/06herzfeld.html?ex=1375761600&en=119dd5456ab91b28&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Lesley

“My father was a liar. My grandfather was a liar. How else did we cross lines to get to this country? We stayed alive by lying. We lied to the Russians, we lied to the Germans, we lied to the British! We lie for survival! Jacob the Liar was my father!” -Uriel Simon, professor emeritus of biblical studies at Bar-Ilan University.

For the full context of Prof. Simon’s statement see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/world/middleeast/23jerusalem.html

The legal definition of immigrant is a person who has been granted permission to live in the United States and has duly registered with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Immigrants are never arrested just for being immigrants. These people were arrested because they allegedly broke the law.

If some of the workers committed identity theft, then they should have been charged with that crime. Any citizen who was guilty of identity theft would be punished for it. Or is it your contention that citizens and legal immigrants should be held to the law but illegal aliens should not?

“. . .to shine a bright light on our profoundly broken immigration policy. . . .”

It is broken, mostly because it is not being enforced rigorously and consistently.

“. . .a group of employee children (below) recited this piece. . .”

You don’t say whether the children are citizens or not. If they are, then they are entitled to all the rights and privileges that American citizens have. If not, then they don’t even have the right to protest here. If they are citizens, then their parents should be able to get legal residency.

“We will always fight for our people
on our honor.”

Fight whom? When foreign nationals talk about fighting, I worry. Does that mean war?

“They are critical reminders that the immigration debate in our country is not about abstract policy, but real people whose lives are literally being torn apart by structural violence.”

It’s not an immigration debate; it’s a crime debate. I support allowing more immigration, but I cannot support criminal behavior. We don’t allow our own citizens to engage in it without threat of consequences.

It’s an argument that shouldn’t even be taking place. A sovereign country does not owe the citizens of other sovereign countries anything, just as those countries don’t owe our citizens anything. I’ve been a legal resident of four other countries besides the United States. Believe me, my documents were thoroughly verified, and in one case I and my American colleagues were closely monitored. That’s just how things work.

For the sake of the children, I am sorry for what has happened. But I blame the adults who perpetuated the crimes, not the government officials who did their jobs.

The picture of the boy holding the American flag is touching, but the most basic thing that an American citizen should do is obey the laws. (I’m talking about the mother, not the child.)

Thank you for going to Postville to show another face of Judaism!

Notwithstanding however is the moral and legal ineptitude of the illegal immigrants and to those who provide sanctuary for them.

My heart grieves for those of us who have ethics, values, and God in our lives who are inconveinenced by raids, incarceration, and possible deportation.

However, everyone is responsible for their own actions. Should we just ‘forget’ the “Manner of Law” and go around lawless? I think not. I wish there was more responsibility taken by illegal immigrants, but none more than the US government.

omc