2007年VOA标准英语-Israel to Grant Citizenship to Some Sudanese Re

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
05 September 2007

Israel is opening its doors to some refugees from war-torn Sudan. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the issue poses a moral dilemma¹ to the Jewish state.

A Sudanese refugee family in front of an Israeli soldier after crossing illegally from Egypt into Israel, 20 Aug 2007

Israel plans to grant citizenship² to some of the hundreds of Sudanese refugees who fled here from the civil war in Darfur. The decision caps months of heated debate over what to do about the growing number of Africans who want to make their homes in Israel. Nearly 3,000 have entered the country illegally through Egypt's Sinai desert in recent years, including up to 500 from Darfur.

The number has shot up in recent months, apparently³ because of job opportunities in Israel and mistreatment in Egypt.

Eartlier, in December 2005, Egyptian riot police killed at least 25 Sudanese refugees while breaking up a protest at their tent camp in central Cairo.

Israeli refugee activist⁴ Eitan Schwartz says Israel has a duty to these people because of the Holocaust⁵, when Jews fleeing Nazi⁶ persecution⁷ were in a similar situation.

A Sudanese refugee woman carries her baby outside a private home where she and others are temporarily being housed in Kadesh Barnea, Israel, 19 Aug. 2007

"We as Jews have a moral obligation to help refugees seeking safe haven⁸ and we have a historical obligation to help refugees," Schwartz said.

But Ephraim Zuroff, an Israeli expert on the Holocaust, says that, while some of the refugees deserve asylum⁹, most do not.

"We are talking about people who already escaped from genocide and have been living in Egypt, some for months and some for years," said Zuroff. "These people are economic refugees. But we can't simply open up the gates of Israel and allow unlimited¹⁰ flow of refugees into the country, just of people who want to better their lives."

Israel's interior minister is taking the middle road. He said the country has a moral obligation to accept newcomers, but it will set a quota¹¹ to prevent a flood of Christian¹² and Muslim refugees into the Jewish state.

1 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

2 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

6 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

7 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

8 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

9 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

10 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

11 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。