Former defense minister Amir Peretz and Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan engaged in an exchange, Sunday, in response to Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's decision to stop soldiers from volunteering to assist the children of people who had infiltrated Israel illegally. Peretz told Israel Defense Forces Radio that Israel's strength comes from a biblical directive to "respect the stranger who dwells amongst you," and from its not discriminating between one child and another.
Ben-Dahan told the same broadcast, "He would respond differently if they were volunteers in the settlements." He asked, "If soldiers were volunteering in [the Samarian Jewish community of] Yitzhar, what would the bleeding hearts say? 'What are you doing? Taking them to volunteer at an illegal outpost?'"