Asylum policy concerns

JEWISH groups have voiced concern about Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s new policy on asylum seekers, which diverts boat arrivals to Papua New Guinea.

The Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia (ORA), representing Orthodox congregations, described assisting asylum seekers and border protection as a “balancing act”.

ORA president Rabbi Moshe Gutnick said that while Jews “must be exceedingly sensitive to the plight of refugees in general, including their safety on the high seas … there are still complex legal and practical issues with moral ramifications that have yet to be clarified”.

The Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) said concern for secure borders cannot override a moral imperative to aid strangers fleeing persecution.

RCV president Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant said: “We hope the policy will only be a temporary measure and that the time will come when Australia will once again continue its proud tradition of welcoming those in genuine need.”

Rabbinical Council of NSW (RCNSW) president Rabbi Yoram Ulman said escapees from genocide should be protected, a principle enshrined in Judaism. Safeguarding asylum seekers while maintaining Australia’s interests “raises complexities which are currently the subject of intense political discussion”.

However, Rabbi Ulman added: “RCNSW does not see how the resettling of genuine refugees in a country such as PNG would be a violation of the biblical injunction to save lives. It is incomparable to Holocaust victims who were refused entry everywhere and callously returned to certain death because no option for third country processing existed.”

The Union for Progressive Judaism voiced dismay at the policy, executive director Steve Denenberg emphasising the Torah’s teaching to care for strangers and Australia’s global obligations, even as it seeks to protect its borders.

“It would be naive to hope that our politicians will remove this issue from the political agenda and to address it in a bipartisan manner, particularly in the lead-up to a general election,” he said.

Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council national chairman Mark Leibler and executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein called for a “non-discriminatory, generous and compassionate” policy, enhanced by “an orderly and fair process, effectively addressing Australia’s genuine border security concerns”.

PETER KOHN

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

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