Anti-Jewish sentiment reached a boiling point in Russia in 1881 after the assassination of the tsar was inaccurately pinned on Jews. A wave of pogroms (Russian for massacres) swept the countryside like an un-contained rage, wiping out homes as well as the lives of many Jewish men, women, and children.

Survivors awoke to a new order of discriminatory policies, forcing many into extreme poverty, while the constant hostility of neighbors made Russia nearly unlivable.

Naturally many fled — more than 2 million Jews escaped their oppressive homeland over a 40-year period. Many sought refuge in a land that boasted a strong record of welcoming the tired, the poor and the downtrodden.

The United States became an ideal refuge, and a stream of Russian Jews began their relocation process. Among that stream were Louis and Gertrude Garland, who found home in Iowa, laying down roots that would last for generations. The Garlands’ story is an important one to note given recent events, as Louis and Gertrude are the grandparents of our very own Gov. Terry Branstad.

The story here is hardly unique. Many of us, whether known or unknown, are descendants of immigrants who escaped harsh, unthinkable conditions to rebuild themselves in the land of the American Dream.

It is therefore so disheartening to see Gov. Branstad announce his decision to block Syrian refugees from entering our state. The governor had first hinted he may in fact allow their settlement in Iowa but quickly backtracked after a contingency of Republican governors offered a unified refusal to take any refugees in their own states.

Branstad’s decision reeks of orchestration by a party elite, and it’s disappointing to see a state which once offered sanctuary for our governor’s own ancestors not offer that same hand today.

It’s easy to whitewash our own histories, to think of ourselves as uniquely American-blooded, to stare directly at the great humanitarian crisis of the new millennium and feel vacant. Many of us have been granted a remarkable opportunity, one we have done nothing to earn ourselves.

We have been placed in the most prosperous nation in the world thanks to the sacrifice of our immigrant ancestors; thanks to a lax immigration system that, until only somewhat recently, allowed ostensibly anyone to come here relatively easily; and thanks to a national commitment to this American Dream that allowed those individuals to thrive.

But the collective ignorance of our own histories, of our own former foreignness in this land, has unfortunately meant we have no problem pulling away the ladder from those trying to earn what we’ve already been handed.

Branstad has cited security concerns, claiming a lack of transparency in the background checks done by intelligence officers. This deflection is quite weak.

As The Economist wrote: “If a potential terrorist is determined to enter America to do harm, there are easier and faster ways to get there than by going through the complex refugee resettlement process.”

The magazine also cited that, since 9/11, 750,000 refugees have resettled in America, and there is not even a single case of any one of those refugees planning an attack on American soil.

Looking back to the story of Branstad’s ancestors, there seems to me an obvious parallel. Security concerns around the Jewish population were not unusual in the America of that time, as the Civil War just a couple decades earlier saw both the North and South accusing the Jews of abetting the enemy.

During the time of this mass resettlement of Russian Jews, major figures such as Henry Adams warned publicly of a concerted effort by the Jews to take over the country. It is hard to shake the sense of repeated history, of cultural exclusion, of unjustified fears, that could lead to such simple callousness in the face of complete devastation.

I urge my fellow ISU students to write to the governor’s office and let him know that you stand against his efforts. It is in the backbone of this country to be that glimmering city on a hill, and we must never let bitter partisanship get in the way of our most primal humanity.

The people of Syria deserve better.