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OUTLINE

A Colombian man is suing Israel's government after having been refused Aliyah. The case is pending in before the country's Supreme Court and has brought international media attention to Israel's controversial Law of Return. As local Sephardi community groups organize in support of the plaintiff, the government has been forced to address the issue before the existing Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs which in turn formed a sub-committee to address growing debate regarding the origins of the country's Ashkenazi majority.

Minister of Diaspora

Teenagers claiming neo-nazi affiliation (Task Force 36)

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NIGHT, CENTRAL BUS STATION, TEL AVIV

The head-beams of the Tel-Aviv bound bus from Jerusalem illuminates the glowing paint from a freshly tagged swastika on the pillars supporting the elevated highway. On the sidewalk below, an African man wearing a colorful Fulbe robe stretches a three square meters cloth on which he lays out an assortments of fake Gucci sunglasses and Louis Vuitton handbags. After stopping his bus, the driver opens its side trunks and drops bags and suitcases by the street vendor's display as passengers disembark. First thrilled by the spontaneous crowd, the African man, grows nervous as passengers rush around the bus' trunks, stepping over his merchandise and getting confused when sorting out their luggage amongst the fake LVs. As passengers dissipates and the bus leaves, the man counts his units and re-arranges his layout.

From across the street, a teenager purposely throws his cigarette butt which lands on the cloth. The African vendor, quickly removes the lit cigarette but still notices a hole in the material. He looks up to now see four teenagers wearing Doc Martins boots at the foot of his display. He addresses them in elementary Hebrew but they reply in Russian.

-Why did you do this? You burnt a hole man.

The Russians look at each other as one tries on a pair of sunglasses.

-Sorry, man, I thought this was trash.

He grabs three other pairs of glasses and hands one each to his buddies.

-Anyways, what are you doing here, man... can't you see the sign, gesturing towards the painted swastika. This means no niggers.

The African man looks around to assess how isolated he is from other passers-by, and judging that he'll have to deal with the situation on his own, he folds his cloth without even packing anything first. The Russians laugh out loudly as he walks away carrying his pouch over his shoulder.

-That's it man, climb back up your tree.

SUB-COMMITTEE ON EUROPEAN DIASPORA, KNESSET, JERUSALEM

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Israel's Minister of Diaspora addresses members of the select sub-committee on European Diaspora in the wake of the publication of a new study from the University of Geneva's Department of Genetics & Evolution. The new study about the peopling of Europe confirms key findings from another recent study which had been widely debated in Zionist, anti-Zionist, scientific and pseudo-scientific circles around the globe.

The main committee, which was dealing with the growing dissatisfaction regarding the Law of Return coming from Sephardi community groups supporting the case of a Colombian man which was refused right of return and Israeli citizenship. The man, whose mother was a Christian of Native American origins could not unequivocally demonstrate that his late father was Jewish although the lineage was clear for Sephardi experts.

The combination of the two events in the midst of growing racism in Israel led to the government's establishment of the sub-committee.

CHANEL 10 TELEVISION STUDIO, TEL-AVIV

Ultra-Nationalist Knesset member Baruch Dershowitz is the guest of a news program along with Noam ben Hammou the leader of a left leaning Sephardi community group.

Baruch Dershowitz accuses the ben Hammou of helping the propagation of anti-Semitic arguments. Ben Hammou responds, with a sardonic smile.

NBH -Well, actually, right to the contrary, we are advocating for pro-Semitic policies to balance out the disproportionally high percentage of Europeans making Aliyah. The man we're representing, maybe of a Native North-American matrilineage and of Christian faith, but it is clear, through the DNA tests we've conducted, that his patrilineal heritage has deep roots in the our region.

BD -Deep roots in the region mean nothing. We cannot start to genetically select who we accept and who we don't. The process in place has worked for over sixty years. The claimant has to demonstrate both undeniable family roots and a basic knowledge of the precepts of Judaism. In this case, the claimant failed in both tests.

NBH -But you have to remember that this man, Mr. Diaz, lost his father at a very young age, an was then raised by a Catholic mother in a deeply religious environment. How could he possibly know any of the precepts of Judaism. He came here in search of his roots and we're just sending him back because he doesn't fit the profile. The Law of Return was drafted as you mention quite rightly, for once, after World War 2 to handle the exodus of European Jews and the peopling of our country. Now that that has been achieved, what we're advocating is for a revision of the law to open up our society to Jews from other horizons who might not fit the post war model.

BD -What you are asking, is for the government to launch a policy of [affirmative action http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmative_action_in_the_United_States] which many studies demonstrated its inefficiency in the United States.

NBH -It's quite a paradox that you'd use the example of affirmative action when that is exactly what we've been doing since the First Aliyah.

BD -First Aliyah was in great number comprised of Yemeni Jews. Maybe you should revise your national history.

NBH -Well, yes, that was before migrations were regulated from within.

HOST -Gentlemen, I suggest, for the sake of understanding by our audience, that we get back to our main debate and that yo both refrain from using historical arguments which might be difficult to grasp by the majority of our audience. So Mr. ben Hammou. What changes do you suggest the government implement, and why?

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