Monk Parakeet : A Welcome Invader

This is a Monk Parakeet. The legend, which may even be true, is that a pair were released by a woman who brought them back from their native habitat. The birds found the area hospitable and have flourished. There are now hundreds, maybe thousands, of them. Birders sometimes indignantly refer to them as an “invasive species.” Yes, they didn’t evolve here nor migrate on their own following food or an environmental niche. But in the habitats they occupy, they are stunningly beautiful. They’ve not displaced other creatures. It is even highly doubtful that few people here remember the “good old days(?)” before the parakeets came. There is, at the very least, a modus vivendi.

Judaism is a religion of peoplehood. By that I mean there’s a distinct body politic, and there is also a territorial component to Jewish identity. Israel is both a nation and a country. HaShem’s very first instruction to Abram is to go to the land he will be shown, and the promise is that he will be the father of many nations. Abram’s descendants will live in this land so long as they follow the constitutional laws that define them as a people and a society. Tanakh is both explicit and unapologetic that the tribes currently living in the land will be conquered. Tradition teaches that their horrific practices, especially child sacrifice, justify their fate.

People contest “invasive” versus “indigenous.” How long must one live in a place? What continuity is required? From whence does title derive? Facile accusations ignore humanity’s single-point origin and obscure our commonality as children of migrants, emigres, invaders, or colonizers. Disingenuous labeling is shorthand for, “I dislike your race/religion/class/politics.” We would be better served by looking forward. What can we accomplish? How can we improve? What is illuminated by the light unto the nations? Just as we should appreciate the inherent merits and beauty of the Parakeet, we should extend the same acceptance to the people around us.