I think that problem can be remedied if the refugees are carefully interviewed and if groups in the US adopt them.
I am also concerned about the fact that we have religious tolerance in our country and that the Syrians have been very intolerant of their Israeli neighbors. We need to explain to them how vital religious tolerance will be for them as they live in the US and how important it is to extend it fully and graciously to others. I know this is a problem in many other countries. I remember one day in another country in which grade school children who were Catholic yelled out as they were going to a school that was mixed Protestants and Catholics, "All the Protestant girls are whores." May be true if you take Catholic doctrine very literally, but I doubt that very many Catholic priests think that. My point is that religious intolerance is prevalent all over the world. We work at making it rare.
Beverly Hills was luxurious before Middle Easterners moved in in very large numbers. I say that as an Angeleno. This is not an important point, but I just thought I would correct the historical record. I'm sure you did not mean to suggest that the influx of Middle Easterners (many of whom are Jewish) suddenly enriched Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is a legend of wealth -- maybe not always and everywhere as wealthy as its reputation suggests.
Anyway, no matter who the refugees are, the adjustment to a new culture is difficult. One of the great difficulties of being a refugee is that the skills and recognition you enjoyed in your homeland do not always follow you. This is very true for, for example, lawyers, whose job involves language and learning and knowing local law. They may find themselves working as janitors. That can be depressing. Same is true for doctors. They will have to face rigorous tests in this country. I do not know what being a refugee and immigrant will mean for Syrians who earned their living as farmers. But they will not be able to buy land right away.
So being an immigrant and especially being a refugee is almost always a miserable condition especially for those who are older. The young will do fine.
And the Syrians were not welcoming to the Jews when they moved to Israel. No one in the Middle East really was. Yet the Syrians will be welcomed here. Strange world. But as I said being an exile, a refugee, an immigrant is never easy. Not for anyone. Not even for those who do well financially.
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