” Over the last several days, local news coverage has honed in on the growing public clamor over the influx of illegal African migrants into Israel. Dire warnings have been voiced about the threat that tens of thousands of Eritrean and Sudanese fortune seekers pose to the security and identity of the Jewish state.

In the international court of public opinion, a disturbing trend can be discerned regarding the correct, measured response that the government sitting in Jerusalem should take in addressing this simmering issue. Israel, so goes this appeal to the better angels of our nature, should “be sympathetic and welcoming to those fleeing persecution.”

In other words, Israel should heed the ancient call to act as a “light unto the nations.” Sadly, the prophet Isaiah’s designation of the Jewish people as a mentor for spiritual and moral guidance for the entire world is being corrupted into an ever-so-subtle attempt to subvert Israeli sovereignty…”

Click here to read the entire essay as it appears in the Times of Israel: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israels-special-obligation-to-its-illegal-immigrants/