Things in Israel Aren't What They Seem -Oakland Ross
The "separation barrier" that now divides a good deal of Israel from much of the West Bank is almost invariably presented in newspapers or on TV as an ugly, forbidding series of tall concrete slabs.
There is just one problem with this picture. It isn't accurate, or not very. True, the portion of the barrier that snakes through Jerusalem does take the form of a concrete wall [to deter sniper shootings], but those portions represent only about 3% of the still unfinished barricade. The rest consists of an electronically monitored chain-link fence.
Welcome to the Middle East, where few features of the geopolitical landscape ever turn out to be exactly the way they tend to be perceived from abroad. Take the whole notion of physical separation between Israelis and Palestinians. It is surprising just how much commingling of the two sides does go on.
(Toronto Star)
The "separation barrier" that now divides a good deal of Israel from much of the West Bank is almost invariably presented in newspapers or on TV as an ugly, forbidding series of tall concrete slabs.
There is just one problem with this picture. It isn't accurate, or not very. True, the portion of the barrier that snakes through Jerusalem does take the form of a concrete wall [to deter sniper shootings], but those portions represent only about 3% of the still unfinished barricade. The rest consists of an electronically monitored chain-link fence.
Welcome to the Middle East, where few features of the geopolitical landscape ever turn out to be exactly the way they tend to be perceived from abroad. Take the whole notion of physical separation between Israelis and Palestinians. It is surprising just how much commingling of the two sides does go on.
(Toronto Star)
3 comments:
Regardless of how it looks, it is the concept I think many in the West have a problem with. As I have said many times before, let those critics come spend a few nights in Israel and they will see these security measures in a new light.
When people can imagine what it would be like, say if you live in New York City, and every so often people from the Bronx come into Manhattan and blow themselves up, taking as many Manhattanites as possible with them, and missiles keep lobbing in from Yonkers, then they will appreciate the situation.
That is an excellent analogy!
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