The Human Spirit: Don't deport Tabitha and Vincent Stuker
May 26, 2005
The ability to make distinctions is a celebrated virtue in our tradition. We begin the day by praising the rooster's capacity to differentiate between light and darkness, and admire our airline security's talent at spotting risks without wasting time and effort on unlikely suspects.
But the ability to distinguish friend from foe seems to disappear when we consider applications for residence.
Consider Tabitha and Vincent Stuker, a Dutch couple who are fighting for the privilege of becoming tax-paying residents of the State of Israel. As Vincent says: "We identify with the Jewish people and we feel at home here. We have enjoyed much kindness and goodwill from Jewish friends and neighbors. But there is one problem: we're not Jewish."
The Stukers, Bible-believing Protestants from Holland, came to Israel separately, met here and married. After entering on student, volunteer or tourist visas, four years ago they applied for residency status so they could work here, instead of relying on their funds in Holland. Two years later, their application was rejected. They hired a lawyer and appealed. When Vincent's mother died and he went to Holland to attend the funeral, they had to fight for almost 10 months to get permission for him to return.
In March, they received still another refusal of their request for residency. This time, the rejection came with an order to leave the country.
Who are these people whom Israel would so easily give up?
Tabitha, 42, arrived more than 15 years ago for graduate study in biological research at the Hebrew University. She was glad to be chosen for a research project, both for professional reasons and because her family had strong positive feelings about the Jewish people. During World War II, her grandfather became the guardian of Alfons, a Jewish boy who had been rescued from a transit camp and was in hiding. Jewish "Uncle Alfons" survived the war and took part in all their family gatherings.
Vincent came to Israel 10 years ago to study Jewish history and archeology. His dream is to encourage thousands of Dutch Bible-believing Christians to visit Israel, so he paid for and completed a tour-guide course. He waxes eloquent on imbuing Christians with insights and appreciation for the Land of Israel, Jews and Jewish history, and the importance of them spreading that awareness. But he can't get a guide license without residency.
Aware of suspicions about non-Jews, Tabitha and Vincent gathered testimonies from neighbors and friends stating that they have no missionary ambitions. One of those was from Vincent's sister, who has converted to Judaism, and with whom they often spend Shabbat.
Tabitha and Vincent have also spent considerable time helping physically challenged Israelis, who are grateful for their care. There was Michael, who suffered from MS. In his dying days, Tabitha and Vincent took Michael to all the beautiful gardens and parks in Jerusalem; and Chesus, who had a broken neck, whom Tabitha and Vincent visited and helped.
THERE'S RUTH, who lives in a home for the elderly, whom Tabitha visits daily, and there are Yoni and Eitan, autistic brothers whom Tabitha visits every week. With no children of their own, Tabitha and Vincent are "auntie" and "uncle" to many neighborhood children, helping them with homework and music lessons.
My friend Dennis, a gifted computer engineer, came here as an immigrant from the American hi-tech industry. Tabitha knew him professionally, and when he tragically became a paraplegic, she visited him in the hospital, brought him food, did his laundry, ran his errands and helped him get settled in his new living arrangements - a hospital for the chronically ill. Vincent helped with Dennis's physiotherapy. When Dennis finally moved into an apartment of his own, they packed, cleaned, brought furniture and moved in for the first two weeks to help him adjust. They still visit daily.
How many persons like this do you know?
Is this really about their being non-Jews? This country employed emissaries to import hundreds of thousands of immigrants, whom everyone knew weren't Jewish. In fact, so many with troubling backgrounds came that Knesset member Yuli Edelstein sounded a public alarm about who was being encouraged to live in Israel just to fill immigration quotas. No barrier restricts these non-Jews who entered Israel under the Law of Return from openly practicing Christianity and receiving Israeli citizenship.
At the Ministry of the Interior, I received a courteous and quick response from Sabine Haddad, the spokesperson for matters of population. Indeed, the couple's request has been rejected several times by the interministerial committee made up of representatives of offices no less than the National Insurance, the Ministry of Health and the Foreign Ministry. However, if they can bring proof of Tabitha's grandfather's status as a Righteous Gentile, she might be allowed to stay.
Their final hearing is scheduled for July.
There's something wrong with a system that fails to allow for peoplr like Tabitha and Vincent. Friends are scarce and foes aplenty. We should be wise enough to act according to the difference.
