Throughout the Western world, citizens are treated by their respective governments as second class. Immigrants, generally illegally present, are oftentimes treated far better. The questions are why and how long can this behavior continue?
In the early days of cellular phones here in Israel, there was a standard phenomenon. The phone companies had two telephone numbers—one for present customers and another for new signups. Calling the first number meant staying on the line for hours until someone answered. The second number was answered in two rings. Trying to short circuit the system by calling the second number and asking for assistance only led to being told to call the first number—and wait.
Now think back to two years ago. You need to catch a flight and the person at the check-in counter says that your COVID test was taken 26 hours earlier and thus is invalid. You cannot travel until you get a new COVID test and you will miss your flight. Meanwhile, along the southern border, thousands cross over into the US daily and nobody would dream of asking for a COVID test or preventing their entry on such a trifle as their being positive for the virus.
Abraham Lincoln famously said at Gettysburg that the government must be, “Of the people, by the people, and for the people.” One might argue that the first two parts are still working over 150 years later: those elected are citizens and thus “of the people” and fellow citizens do vote and as such, government is arguably “by the people” (ignoring election fraud and non-citizens voting). But what about “for the people”? I saw a headline last week that homeless people in New York did not get a Thanksgiving dinner because the food was given to illegal immigrants that the city is having a very hard time dealing with. Millions of people have crossed an open southern border since January 2021 and overwhelmed cities and towns across America. Why should the resources spent on feeding, housing, clothing, and educating people who have entered the country illegally not be spent on citizens who are unemployed or are in need of housing? Why do state and federal resources go to those who violated US law to enter the country, while those born and raised in the US and follow the laws will find fewer resources available for their pressing needs?
This problem is by no means a US issue alone. Europe has been flooded with immigrants, brought in by cynical leaders who thought that they could get past their low birth rates by simply importing grown workers. The fact that many of those immigrants hate their host countries and do not want to assimilate did not seem like a big issue until no-go zones, immigrant crime and now violent protests have shown that bringing masses of people whose ways and views are inimical to Western values became too great to ignore. Recently in London, 300,000 people marched and their target was not just Israel. They demanded an “intifada” from London to Israel. As one injured during the second intifada, I would not wish on any British national what we went through—but that is what UK-hating immigrants and their leftist enablers demand.
Here in Israel, the same is often true. Those being released for Israelis violently kidnapped during Hamas’ barbaric pogrom on 10/7 are terrorists and they have victims. Those victims turned to the High Court to prevent the release of those who harmed them. We did something similar prior to the Schalit deal. In both cases, the releases were allowed by the court which pooh-poohed the concerns of those injured. And what of those harmed by the released terrorists in the future, a prospect that the Israeli government at the time said was all but certain? 10/7 is your answer. Over 1,200 dead and more than 5,000 injured. Yaha Sinwar was in Israeli custody. They actually treated him for a brain tumor. He was released for Schalit and planned the attack that trumped 80 years of Jew killing to rival only the Holocaust in scale. Why would the government not care about its citizens’ future safety? We all want hostages home, but we also want fellow citizens to make it home at night alive. The government has been and remains cavalier in its lack of consideration for the safety and well-being of its citizens. The Israeli government could refuse to release prisoners, at which point the hostages would have no value, unless they were traded for cash. Why does Israel always play by Hamas’ rules?
Ireland is on fire after an Algerian immigrant stabbed several children. Conor McGregor makes more sense than a prime minister who described a kidnapped child as having been “lost” and suddenly “found” after her release for unrepentant terrorists. The Netherlands elected Geert Wilders to deal with their out-of-control immigration situation. France and Sweden do not report the nationality of criminals who burn cars or rape, as it would somewhat remind the people that bringing in large numbers of people whose way of life does not mesh with those of the natives was not such a great idea. Germany, like Spain and Belgium, has also suffered Islamic terror attacks. The question again is why do leaders bring these problems to their own shores and make their fellow citizens suffer or fear?
The simple answer is that today’s leaders are completely insulated from their decisions. Just as Hollywood and Silicon Valley grandees can drone on about gun control or open borders while they have their own personal security and their kids go to very tony private schools, our leaders live in a bubble where they do not have to deal with the immigrants they import. The Europeans thought that they had found new workers to replace those their citizens failed to produce and Democrats thought that they had found new voters. But the social turmoil and worsening conditions in the lives of local citizens have reached a tipping point. The election of Wilders and the demands of Eric Adams for Washington to deal with the illegal aliens for whom he has no housing or additional resources are warning signs that citizens are tired of playing second fiddle. Donald Trump was elected to some extent to deal with the border. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni came to power to stop the ships coming from Africa and the Middle East. Bibi Netanyahu’s political career is over; the left has nothing to offer and the people will probably only go more to the right to deal with Hamas and its Palestinian supporters. People are sick of social destabilization brought on by treating citizens as background scenery. People are tired of resources directed to illegal immigrants and not to them or their communities. They are tired of the crime, and of people who hate the way of life of which they are proud.
Mayor Jane Byrne famously moved into the Cabrini Green housing project to show her solidarity with those who were traumatized by gang activity in Chicago. The move was a publicity stunt, but the idea that politicians should live as their constituents do was suggested by Lincoln so long ago. I was once at Jerusalem’s main market (“shuk”) and a government minister came through with enough security to have his own soccer team. The people who go through the shuk do not have such bodyguards, so their calculations about their personal safety at various times are different from those of a pampered minister. Such a situation cannot continue.
Politicians throughout the Western world would be wise to remember the words of Lincoln and think about the needs of the people who elected them. That they live in huge mansions, travel under guard and are well remunerated should not distract them from the needs and concerns of their fellow citizens, who should always take priority over any other group or nation. Giving preferences to immigrants, especially those who entered illegally, is an invitation for a change in government.