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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: June 5, 2005 |
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Ambassador Antonio Modena said in a newspaper interview published Friday that the treatment of foreign workers by Israeli immigration police was comparable to that of Jews at the hands of the Gestapo secret police.
"Just like the Nazis treated the Jews, you know, that's how the immigration police treat us," Modena was quoted as saying in the interview, which was published in a Jerusalem weekly and other newspapers across the country. "They don't think twice about raiding a Filipino home in the wee hours of the morning."
Opposition lawmaker Joseph Lapid, a Holocaust survivor and former justice minister, told Army Radio on Saturday that Modena's comments were out of line. "He should apologize in public or pack his things and go back home to the Phillipines," Lapid said.
Israel has an estimated 300,000 foreign workers, many of them without work permits. They include some 30,000 Filipinos, most of whom work as maids and caregivers.
Many foreign workers live in difficult conditions and say they receive below a living wage. In recent years amid growing unemployment, Israel has begun to crack down on illegal workers.
Last month, the Philippines lodged a complaint with Israel about alleged discrimination against Filipino workers arriving in Israel, including overzealous security inspections at the Israeli airport. Israel promised to discuss the matter with airport workers.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the reported comments by Modena were not consistent with "the excellent relationship" between the two countries, and if the quotes were accurate, they would be considered "offensive in the extreme."
"Anyone serving in Israel should know the centrality of the Holocaust in the Jewish experience, the uniqueness of the historical occurrence and the sensitivity that the Holocaust has played in the Israeli public," he said.
An embassy representative said the ambassador was unavailable for comment Saturday.
The AP contributed to this report. |
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