an imaginary – or not so imaginary – scenario

An imaginary individual decides to visit his imaginary relatives. He collects his wife and imaginary children, prepares a suitcase, and sets out on his way. In order to get to his relatives, he has to pass through a barrier. There is a long line of people waiting to pass through this barrier, and our imaginary friend is waiting patiently with his family. At the end of the line, tough-looking people in uniforms check with a frustrating slowness every single person passing through the barrier. Another person in uniform gives our imaginary friend a form, in a language he doesn’t understand, and asks him to fill in the details. On this form, our imaginary friend is required to explain who he is, who his companions are, his destination, and his intentions.



Next to the long line where our imaginary friend is waiting patiently there is another line, in which other people pass through the barrier quickly and without any checks, as if to emphasize the injustice of this imaginary world.



When our imaginary friend reaches the checkpoint, he is required by another official in uniform to open his bag. His belongings are scattered and thoroughly checked. He is asked to remove certain elements of his clothing, and may even be asked to spread his arms. From this checkpoint our imaginary friend is sent to another official in uniform, who glances at the form he has filled in, and repeats the same questions – Who are you? Where are you going? Who are you traveling with? What are you going to do when you get there? etc.



At this stage, when our imaginary friend feels that he and his family have experienced the very depths of injustice and humiliation, he is permitted to pass.



This unimaginary scenario takes place every minute in every sea- and airport of every country in the world – and nobody complains. It is quite obvious that every sovereign country in the world has the right to check the people wishing to enter its borders. With regard to every country in the world, this is called “passport control”. With regard to Israel it has come to be called “barriers”, “walls”, “fences”, etc.



Every country in the world surrounds itself with a wall, and with control checkpoints. In every such checkpoint you will find people in uniforms, and in many places you will also find soldiers with firearms. Every country in the world has a wall. The physical shape of the wall is a function of the purpose of the wall. When the purpose of the wall is to check tourists and innocent bystanders, the physical shape of the wall will be a modern, comfortable, air-conditioned terminal. When the purpose of the wall is to prevent the free passage of terrorists bearing arms and explosives, whose intention is the murder of innocent citizens without discrimination, the physical shape of the wall is concrete, with watchtowers, etc.



No country in the world is faced with the relentless, intensive, and mind-numbing horror of the effects of terrorism to the degree that Israel is. Yet Israel is the only country in the world that has been told by an international court of justice that it does not have the right to close its borders and check people wishing to come in or pass through.



If the basic right of the Palestinian Arabs to move freely from place to place is being exploited by the Palestinian terror organizations to implement terrorist activities inside Israel, then Israel’s natural basic right as a sovereign nation is to prevent the entry of such individuals – even at the cost of the construction of a wall/fence/barrier.



FACT: No international court of justice prosecuted Jordan for violating the basic human rights of the Palestinian Arabs by not allowing them free passage into Jordan – despite the fact that until 1967, all the West Bank territories were under Jordanian rule.



FACT: No international court of justice prosecuted Egypt for violating the basic human rights of the Palestinian Arabs living in Gaza by not allowing them free passage into Egypt – despite the fact that until 1967, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian rule.



FACT: It is a fact, however, that virtually no suicide bombers have gained entry into Israel in areas where the wall/barrier has been constructed.



FACT: The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that certain parts of the wall should be re-routed, but also that security considerations should be balanced against the needs of local residents.



FACT: The Palestinian Authority does not want the wall, because the wall reflects the concept of two countries for two people. The PA wants one binational state in which, based on demographic statistics, the Jews will very quickly become a minority, leading to the inevitable end of the State of Israel.