The Rabbi does make a good point: Why aren't the employers being prosecuted or are they? Does anyone know?


GUEST VIEW: Caring for the vulnerable is moral law
By Rabbi Raphael Kanter

Rabbi Kanter has been the spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Congregation since 1997.

March 17, 2007 6:00 AM

Thirty-six times within the Torah (the five books of Moses), we are told that we must care for the stranger. Who is more of a stranger in our midst than illegal aliens? I understand that they have broken the law, but the law is applied arbitrarily and inconsistently.

The raid also was directed at women, which in turn affects the children, both being the most vulnerable of society. Without the attention of the media, this would not have received the scrutiny it has.

Why was this raid carried out in New Bedford? Here is one guess: It just plays better in New Bedford. New Bedford is an immigrant community with little political power. It is no surprise that anger against illegal aliens runs high here, since they pose the greatest threat to our legal immigrants. They take the same jobs and feel the effects of illegal immigration far greater than any professional class in Boston or other business owner from other parts of the state.

Where is the punishment for the owner of the company? Why haven't the employers been locked up and separated from their families?T

he injustice is clear and compelling.

Passover, our celebration of the exodus from Egypt, teaches us that the ultimate outsiders, namely slaves, were protected by God. For Jews this means we are responsible for helping the weakest and the most vulnerable, for we know this great kindness done to us in our past.

Whatever your stand on the raid, no one has the right to separate a mother from her child, no one. And that's not in the law books but is in the greatest law, the law of God.

Let us hope that we find our way to a just solution to illegal immigration, which begins with real immigration reform. We must turn to our government to take the initiative and move on this now.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbc ... /703170314