It's been a long time since I've written, and I apologize. I've been delinquent not for any lack of thoughts, but rather quite the opposite--between Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day), Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day), and more, there's been a lot to consider. In an effort not to get too lost, though, some thoughts on a trip IDC (my graduate school) organized today, to the security fence. Or BIG BAD WALL, depending on who you ask.
I've known for some time that the barrier is roughly 97% chain link fence, and 3% wall. David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy has a great piece on the fence, downloadable for free at http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/html/pdf/DefensibleFence.pdf.
But it was very interesting to be up close and personal with this barrier, which has caused so much angst. It's all the rage to be opposed to it, now, from here, without cafes blowing up, and more and more restaurants forgoing a security guard. Our leader, however, reminded us of why the fence is in place, and how small this land is.
At one point we were looking at Qalqilya on our right and Kfar Saba on our left. To say that suicide terrorists would walk ten minutes and explode themselves is a literal statement of fact, not an exaggeration. These places are so close to each other, its scary.
The Israelis have made a LOT of mistakes--for instance, the high rises now going up in the midst of where there used to be only Arabs. Sure, they're on our "side" of the Green Line, but they're just going to provoke strife and make it harder to ever come to a peace agreement.
No one, however, deserves to live in fear, and before the fence was in place with its high-tech surveillance systems enabling the IDF to keep us safe without sending patrols in, Israelis did. Innocent people died, because they decided to eat at one cafe instead of the other. And that's not ok.
I'm taking a class on "the democratic dilemma of counter-terrorism." This fence, vs. suicide terror, is the epitome of it all in my mind--with one exception. The fence is not a tough call--its our lives versus their rights, just like every decision, from torture to home demolition. But no people should have to live in fear, and now, thanks to a non-violent, easily-removed fence, we don't have to.
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