Three policies the West could...

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/10/three_policies_the_west_could_learn_to_follow_from_israel.

October 11, 2019

Three policies the West could learn to follow from Israel

By Cam Brown

As many in the West, especially in the United States, have great esteem  and support for Israel, I decided to survey and speak to some key things we in the West can learn from Israeli policy.  These are the policies I believe we should consider following.

First, we need to consider Israel's policy on immigration.  As with most nations to varying degrees, Israel follows a form of jus sanguinis (right of blood), where those who are granted citizenship must have some strong connection to the ethnocultural identity of Israel, and not a jus soli position, where it is granted purely because a person happens to exist on the land for a given time.  Following this policy would ensure that those remaining nations that place a greater emphasis on jus soli would reduce the ongoing problems that currently exist related to who should have a say in the existence of the nation-state.

In terms of numbers permitted, as is typical elsewhere, Israel has varied over time but remains quite consistent in holding to the citizenship ideals of the nation.  Whether the number of immigrants of any nation should be high, low, or stopped altogether is not the purview of this article, but the clear interests of a nation should always be addressed, and Israel has maintained that to a level that many may admiringly adopt.  Note also that Israel does have its own issues that it needs to contend with, such as its Arab minority and African Jews (whom the Israelis have not fully accepted as part of either the nation or, necessarily, as fellow Jews).  Nevertheless, there is much that many in the West could learn from and follow here.

With respect to Israel's border control, Israel has shown itself among the vanguard of those capable of protecting its country.  Setting aside whatever one may think about the actions taken by the IDF on behalf of the Israeli government to the Palestinians, one cannot but still appreciate that Israel has built a pretty impressive border control system — notably, its West bank barrier.  Although Western nations who may emulate Israel are not facing constant threats of terrorist attacks, nevertheless, plenty do have issues with mass illegal migration.  Similar to the Syria-Turkish barrier that the E.U. helped fund, the West Bank barrier has proven quite effective in mitigating such incursions and permitting a better regulated system of entry through its borders.

As far as Israel's family-oriented social policy, it may be a mixed bag that doesn't always align with what those on the political right may embrace (as one must consider that Israel does, overall, tend to be fairly liberal in its politics), but having said that, as far as what many more socially conservative people may agree with, there are two aspects of Israel's policy that may be more amenable to them.

The first of these policies is in respect to the issue of pornography.  Israel's policy is far stricter than what is seen in most developed nations.  True, it may have constitutional issues to overcome in places like the United States, but the very idea that Israel sees the inherent corrosive effect porn has on many (let alone the more extreme forms of it being perpetrated and potentially observed by children) suggests a stronger commitment to maintaining stronger social mores and family integrity then tends to occur in Western nations.

In respect to Israel's abortion policy, although still legal and relatively liberal, it is still stricter than in many developed nations.  Merely instituting greater limitations (as also exist in most European nations, so many in the West already have adopted a similar policy stance to Israel's) would at least foster a reduction of the exceptional excessive abortion rate in countries like the United States and Canada, where laws (or lack thereof, as exists in Canada) are far laxer.  Although perhaps not as much due to this policy as various other variables, Israel has since seen a fairly marked increase in its birth rate, ensuring that growth may eventually be homegrown rather than imported via immigration, as is so often vaunted as the answer to the labor supply problem in the economy.  As a rule, it is always better for any nation to "grow their own" over bringing in those who may not always have as strong a connection or vested interest in the history, culture, and ethos of the existing domestic population.

By following these three planks of Israeli policy, I believe that the West could significantly enhance its societies.  As has been seen, Israel has been able to maintain its national integrity and help foster the long-term benefit of its people.  Failing to tackle these problems, the West will undoubtedly encounter ever greater erosion of their social fabric and increased the probability of societal and national dissolution.

So, as so many on the right admire Israel on many issues, maybe it's time we start to learn from Israel.