[ExI] Israel/Germany/Japan, as compared to France

John Grigg possiblepaths2050 at gmail.com
Mon Apr 6 04:20:56 UTC 2009


I think to gain perspective we need to see how various nations deal with
their challenges...

France- They have a large Muslim population that has not assimilated well
(many of these people are the children of immigrants and were born in
France, they have embraced Islamic fundamentalism to find meaning in
sometimes very unpleasant lives) and are at least perceived as a possible
long-term threat to the culture and body politic.  Foreign immigrants make
up about 9% of the population.

Germany- They allowed in many Turks who are seen generally as model guest
workers but who have faced poverty and mistreatment.  They are now offering
language and citizenship classes, and recently reversed a law that barred
the children of foreigners born in Germany from becoming German citizens.
The idea behind these efforts is to cause a melting pot effect to kick in.
Many non-Muslim Germans are very concerned about Muslims and the building of
Mosques.  Foreign immigrants make up about 8% of the population.

Japan- They are known for being somewhat xenophobic and look to improved
automation and robotics to deal with a low birthrate, rather than allowing
in large numbers of immigrants.  Even a program trying to repatriate
Japanese born and raised in nations like Peru and Brazil did not work too
well.  A long-standing challenge for them has been dealing with their Korean
minority.

Israel- They have a problem with their Muslim population that puts the
problems of France to shame.  Jewish Israeli politicians and intelligentsia
fear that Muslim citizens over time will accomplish with big families &
voting power what no amount of fighting and killing on their part could
accomplish; the takeover of Israel.  Arabs make up roughly 20% of Israel's
population.  If there is any nation that may seriously consider taking
extreme measures to head off the founding group losing their grip on power,
it will probably be Israel.  They are a very small (though powerful) nation
that is surrounded by potential enemies.

My question is, why has France been having a much harder time dealing with
their immigrants as compared to Germany?  Or am I mistaken regarding this
assumption?

What can we learn from Japan's attempt at using technology to find
solutions?  And should the Jewish Israeli majority really be concerned about
their growing Arab population?

John
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