JACOB JR, MY JEWISH WORLD. 1 Iyar 5770, April 18, 2010

There is no better time than the days between Passover, the holiday of freedom and the formation of the Jewish people, and Independence Day, the holiday of freedom and the formation of the State of Israel, to discuss personal and national freedom.

Shalom! World.

The Jewish people have been refugees throughout history: as slaves escaping Egypt, Holocaust survivors who help build Israel, or Jewish refugees from Arab countries. The Israeli media has also focused on refugees recently. Not on Jewish refugees, thank G-d, but on others that have been knocking on Israel's doors, such as the African refugees, foreign workers and some that have lived amongst us for years.

At the same time, no one in Israel seems to be discussing another type of refugees – the Palestinian refugees. No one has mentioned it, because those who speak do so in order to condemn the State of Israel, threaten it with "the right of return," and delegitimize it.

But this silence does not erase the refugees' unnecessary suffering.

This update is dedicated to shining a spotlight on this serious problem, one that Israel ought to solve in its 63rd year, for its own sake and for the sake of the refugees.