The Republican party keeps trying to convince Americans that we need “merit-based” legal immigration, but is that really a good idea? Israelis don’t seem to think so.

The majority of Israelis don’t support non-Jewish immigration to the country, even when the immigrants are highly trained or have advanced degrees, according to a new Pew Research Center report released on Tuesday.

The Pew poll found that 51 percent of Israelis oppose high-skilled immigration of foreigners moving to the country with a bachelor’s degree or higher. The Pew poll focused on immigration of those not entitled to Israeli citizenship under the law of return, which applies to anybody with at least one Jewish grandparent. [The Times of Israel]

Israelis seem to understand that merit-based immigration is destructive of both native culture, and the ability of the nation’s youth to build healthy, wealthy, and prosperous lives.

There are many other reasons why all Americans, and especially conservatives, should oppose more legal immigration, even if those immigrants are supposedly “meritorious.”