Letter to Washington Post

Dear Editor, More than 99% of the Middle East is Muslim, yet Muslim countries refuse to give sanctuary to Muslim refugees from Sudan and Eritrea. So it is up to Israel to bear this burden as well as the criticism (See “Israel confronts a flood of African refugees”, 7/25/12). Meanwhile a free pass is given to Egypt, the nation in which these refugees spent days traversing to get to Israel. Why doesn't the Washington Post ask, instead, why these refugees don’t seek asylum in Egypt, saving days of travel, and settle in a fellow Muslim nation? Why doesn't the Post point out that they don’t go to Egypt because they would be shot, robbed, and raped, if indeed they were allowed to stay? At least in the Jewish state of Israel they will be safe. The nation that comprises less than1% of the Middle East can't be expected to take in all the world's refugees. Israel has welcomed millions from Russia, Ethiopia, and almost every Arab nation. Yet the Post criticizes Israel for not doing more. Why is that? Michael Berenhaus