1. Sam said:

I am not sure what you are trying to point to here in this article, isn't Israel (the Nation) built on religion and race purity? isn't that racist or what?

2. BobW said:

Shalom Sam,

No, "Israel (the nation)" isn't built on religion or race.

The Israeli Jews from Ethiopia, the Falasha, are not caucasian or Oriental. They are black. The Israeli Jews from India, the Bnei Manashe, are, well, they're "Indian".

The place isn't built on religion - much less Judaism. If I had more space, I'd offer no-cost suggestions how to get this started.

Where do you write from? Is polygamy allowed? Can first cousins marry? Are the post offices open on Sunday?

Kol tuv, all the best...
BobW

3. Ben said:

I wish Mr. BobW to tell me: Would a Syrian journalist (whatever his religion) be allowed to go to Israel to cover any event? Free circulation of citizens is restricted between the 2 countries based on the official state or war between them, not on a religious basis. The proof is those thousands of Jews who used to live in Syria, whom some are still living there.

4. BobW said:

Shalom Ben,

I do not have the knowledge to reply. I just don't know. Unless someone posts explicit information here, I'll rely on your comment as the current state of the situation.

Kol tuv, all the best...

BobW

5. Laura said:

Ben, Aaron Klein is not Israeli, he is an American citizen, so your theory that he was denied entry because of the state of war between Israel and Syria doesn't hold up. He was denied entry because he is Jewish.

6. Joshua Landis said:

Jewish reporters are not excluded from Syria because they are Jewish. The border guard in question does not have the authority to exclude Aaron Klein, Jerusalem Bureau Chief of WorldNetDaily. The way clearance for journalist visas works in Syria is that each journalist must apply to the Ministry of Information for a visa. Many journalists are denied visas. Recently Anthony Shadid of the Washington Post has been denied entry to Syria. He is an Arab American. Hassan al-Fattah of the New York Times, another Arab American, has been denied entry; whereas, Michael Slatkin, the new NYTimes Bureau Chief in Cairo, has been issued a visa and is now in Damascus. Many Arab-American journalists who work in or regularly report on Syria believe they are treated more severely than their non-Arab, or even Jewish counterparts because they are expected to be friendlier to Syria and held to a higher standard. Many also believe that because they can speak Arabic, travel around without help and interview whom they please they are considered potentially more dangerous and threatening. It is harder for the authorities to feed them stories and guide their activities.

I have met with scores of foreign journalists this year in Damascus - many have been Jewish. President Bashar has given only a few major interviews with US reporters this year and some have been Jewish. The authorities know who is Jewish usually. Many of the major US, TV and print journalists that cover Syria are based in Israel and regularly travel to Damascus to cover events here. The authorities allow them in.

The border guard who is quoted above sounds like he took pleasure in telling Klien that he was excluded for being Jewish, but that does not mean that the Ministry of Information denied him a visa because he was Jewish. There is a general tightening of visas going on in Damascus at present, many journalists are being excluded. Most because the authorities believe they have written bad things about Syria in the past. It is, of course, possible that Aaron Klien was denied his visa solely based on his religion by someone in the Ministry or because he is stationed in Israel, but this is not the rule or even the custom in Syria.

7. kuhnkat said:

Sam,

the lefties always "forget" that over 100,000 arabs and muslims did NOT get out of the way of the genocidal invading Arab armies in 1948. They stayed with their Israeli neighbors and they and their ancestors live in mostly peace now. They number about 1,000,000 out of over 6,000,000 Israelis. They have voting rights, the most freedom, and the highest standard of living of any other Arab populations in the ME.

Some interesting info from someone who was there:

http://www.think-israel.org/terry.refugees.html

8. Ted Belman said:

My thanks to Joshua Landis for the facts.

9. ShyGuy said:

That Sam-Islam!
That Sam-Islam!
I do not like
That Sam-Islam!