Headline unfair to Israel

Who writes your headlines, anyway? “15 migrants killed near Israel border” on Nov. 16 is not false, but it is misleading. Regular readers would assume the migrants were from Syria, headed for Europe, and killed by Israelis. In fact, they were from Sudan and were killed on Egyptian territory during fighting between Egyptian security forces and Bedouin smugglers.

The connection with Israel is that the incident occurred near the Israeli border because the migrants, fleeing conflict and persecution in Sudan, were trying to reach safety in Israel.

It is noteworthy that the migrants do not want to settle in Egypt or any nearby state other than Israel, which now has more than 45,000 African migrants and asylum seekers. These Sudanese, almost certainly Muslim, are voting with their feet in favor of the one nation in the region that offers freedom, democracy and opportunity.

The government of Israel, trying to discourage illegal migrants, treats them as infiltrators and has had a policy of returning them to Africa. Yet, they continue to make the hazardous journey to Israel. Imagine how much worse conditions are in the other neighboring countries. At least Israel has human rights organizations that stand up for asylum seekers.

Howard Glass

Spokane