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| By israelinsider staff February 13, 2007 |
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| Protest poster (Photo: Action Committees against the fence via Israel National News) |
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Hundred of protestors marched in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, Sunday to protest the separation barrier, but not for the obvious reasons. They call it the "partition wall." They believe its purpose has nothing to do with security for Israeli civilians, as the government argues. They say it is meant to divide Israel and, in effect, create the borders of a Palestinian state.
Despite initial success in toppling plans to destroy a forest to build the barrier, as well as promises from local officials that they were defending the rights and lives of Jewish communities, bulldozers are hard at work in Gush Etzion. The security barrier is slowly encroaching on quiet towns such as Efrat.
Concerned residents have decided to take matters into their own hands and act.
Gush Etzion residents distributed a petition condemning the partition wall throughout the area. Hundreds of residents signed and they, along with those who avoided signing because they thought the petition was useless, were called on to join in yesterday's protest.
An Efrat resident and Women in Green member, Nadia Matar, explained to Israel National News, "Now that the cement is really going up, people are beginning to understand that it is not a security fence. It is a Partition Wall, and in the age of Kassam rockets, such a border only keeps us out, while rockets fly freely overhead."
Among those marching yesterday was the famous Israeli author, Eyal Megged. He described his feelings about the fence and his reasons for opposing it in Makor Rishon last Friday:
"Whoever loves this Land, all of it, from the sea to the Jordan, must cry out against the Wall.
"I don't understand the settlers who aren't doing this. Is this what they saw in their dreams when they came to live in Judea -- corridors of concrete and fortifications all around? [.....]
"What will be with the Land of Judea? With its vineyards and olivegroves? Is this the Land of the Bible to which we have been ingathered? From the road one can barely see the view -- only walls and tunnels. This is the view seen by those who travel from Jerusalem to Hebron, and from Jerusalem to Modiin, both on the highway and the bypass roads. We might as well be in New
Jersey."
Ms. Matar argues that activism, even on a small scale, is effective. "Pressure managed to stop the fence in the Judean Desert," she says, referring to the successful lobbying of environmental groups. "There the bulldozers are now silent. One of the lessons we learned from Gush Katif is that the worst thing is to have a public that continues with their daily routine and lives in denial. Before the expulsion decrees, there were many other decrees that the leadership there would tell the residents not to worry about -- starting with fencing off Gush Katif. 'The most important thing is to continue our daily life,' they would tell them. A public that gets used to these small things and doesn't rise up will not be able to rise up when the big decree comes. That was our mistake."
She also believes that given the current political climate and the likelihood of upcoming elections, now is a critical time to put the issue of the separation fence on politicians' agendas.
Matar is confident that they will succeed, but she points out that this is not enough, since the funds being used to build the wall could be protecting others. "The 250 million shekels can be used by Sderot," she says. "They are bleeding already from their wall around Gaza -- why build another one using money that could help the victims of the first one?"
Israel National News contributed to this article. |
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