What Is A Wall For? By Donnel Jones, November 19, 2003	Home   Search   Forum   Terms

A wall is a sign that things are hopeless and that they are hopeless because the true cause for there being no hope has not been addressed. Do I seem cryptic? How about the idea that a wall to protect Israelis from terrorist bombings is a sign of hopeless despair because the root cause for such hopelessness has not been addressed.

That is, terrorism is the cause for such hopelessness. Israel is a nation besieged. It has no choice but to protect itself. Since Washington will not allow Israel to fight a full-scale war (and let's be honest, the U.S. is fighting its war on terrorism with only one arm tied behind its back), then the tiny Middle Eastern nation has no choice but to take defensive measures since "offensive" ones would be deemed draconian.

Bush has been criticized for supporting Israel uncritically. Well, while in England today he has taken Israel to task for building its wall. Don't think for a minute, though, that the anti-Bush/America/Israel haters in the streets of London will take note that the president is being "fair and balanced" in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

I'm not so sure. In fact, I'm quite certain Bush is still deluded with the idea that peace can come between the two factions. We all now know that his road map to peace was long ago torn to shreds. Maybe it had something to do with Hamas? Of course, I don't want to go out on a limb here. I mean, you wouldn't want me to just conjecture that a thriving democracy is not the sole and main reason for there being no peace when perhaps—if you'll bear with me for just a moment—the root cause of the hopeless conflict between Jew and Arab, as expressed in the Israeli/Palestinian war, yes "war," has much more to do with something that is often overlooked and bears repeating. It is this: TERRORISM!

Nothing like a refresher course in basic morality. And what does this terrorism mean with respect to Israel? It means that the Arab/Muslim world does not acknowledge Israel's right to exist. Not at all. Period. And what does it mean for nations and peoples not to acknowledge Israel's right to exist? It means that those nations and peoples want to destroy Israel. And what does it mean for nations and peoples to want to destroy Israel? It means that those nations and peoples want to kill Jews. Ergo, terrorism. Ergo, blow up children on buses—in Israel. Why does a wall seem so unreasonable? Camp David was an offering without walls. What happened? Well, you know what happened or if you're an anti-Israeli Leftist or Rightist you think you know what happened but you really don't.

Is Israel without sin? Who said it wasn't? Nor is the U.S. But would we expect any sort of self-examination on the part of extremists and those who back them? Don't hold your breath. Fanaticism and terrorism are the opposite of those private virtues—self- examination, responsibility for oneself, civic duty, reason and reasonable detachment in the settling of disputes, morality, a dash of hypocrisy, support for both religion and rational inquiry, and a stern but not fanatical upholding of the law—that make democracy robust, something worth killing and dying for, only if, and this is really important, we are killing and dying in the fight against what would destroy us if we did not fight.

Since Israel and the U.S. are not taking the fight seriously enough (if they were, the Sunni triangle would be toast by now and the insurgents sent packing and Arafat and Co would be history), then a wall looks like a pretty good idea. At least for now. Christ, I'm beginning to sound like Goldwater in '64. But, hey, he was right about those God damn Communists!

It can be argued that the great wall didn't keep the invading hordes from attacking China. That is why the situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians is so hopeless unless we seriously tackle and defeat terrorism and the forces that breed it.

Others scream that Israel's wall is encroaching upon territory set aside for the Palestinian state. You mean the one Israel offered them in 2000? Hey, I deliberated on a jury yesterday. Let me tell you about the art of compromise, another virtue of the democractic life.

If you alienate the Israelis long enough there will no nuttin' left to cry for.