Asylum: A Moral Dilemma - Paperback

by W. Gunther Plaut (Author)

Fueled by the explosion of the world's population, the quest for asylum is one of the most pressing problems of our age. Refugee receiving nations--located frequently, but by no means exclusively, in the Western world--have to respond to masses of humanity searching for new livable homes. Human compassion for these refugees can be found everywhere, but so can xenophobia and the desire to preserve one's nation, economic well being, and cultural integrity. The clash between these impulses represents one of the great dilemmas of our time and is the subject of Plaut's study. In exploring it, he provides a far-ranging inquiry into the human condition. The book presents political, ethnic, philosophical, religious, and sociological arguments, and deals with some of the most troublesome and heartbreaking conflicts in the news.

Author Biography

W. GUNTHER PLAUT is a senior scholar at the Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. Born in Germany, where he received his doctor of laws, he fled Hitler's Reich for the United States where he became a rabbi, serving in Chicago, St. Paul, and since 1961 in Toronto. Plaut is the author of 20 books, including Torah: A Modern Commentary, of which he is the editor and principal author. He is a research fellow at the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University.