By Dan Lenard
Buffalo, NY – After over 19,000 terrorist attacks, over 900 dead and thousands more wounded, Israel is building a defensive anti-terrorist fence. Its sole purpose is to prevent suicide bombers and armed terrorists from reaching Israeli cafes, city centers and buses (as happened in Jerusalem two weeks ago today).
Pro-Palestinian commentators absurdly attack the security fence as an impediment to peace, a land grab, a holocaust on the Palestinian people and then the biggest lie "an apartheid wall." Such rhetorical imagery distorts the issue and if anything is a complete reversal from the reality on the ground.
An article in the New York Times on November 28th quoted UN Secretary General Kofi Anan, as saying "the barrier had caused serious socio-economic harm to the Palestinian people by restricting the movement of goods and people and limiting their access to land, jobs and markets." So, according to his Excellency, Mr. Anan, Israel is entitled to self-defense, but only to the extent that its actions cause absolutely no discomfort to the enemy. Meanwhile, the Arabs should not bound by any restrictions whatsoever and be free to murder Israelis whether they are wearing military uniforms or diapers. In fact Mr. Anan's and the members of the UN criticism of the security fence is one of the most hypocritical stances the body has ever taken. Let's take a look outside the box of everyday news stories about some other fences that seem to avoid any UN scrutiny.
First, let's start with the fence between Mexico and the USA. There is really no need for this fence since the millions of illegal Mexicans in the United States do not commit suicide bomb attacks in American restaurants. Then we continue with the fence between North and South Korea. A totally useless fence since the regimes of both countries obviously share the same democratic values. Tear it down!
A fence in Europe! Could it be? But those people live in peace! The fence between Greeks and Turks on Cypress should be removed at once, and as reported recently on NPR, not only opened during daytime. Wait, another fence in Europe! In Northern Ireland this time, where thanks to wise British policy, Catholics and Protestants have lived in peace together for centuries. I think this fence has outlived its usefulness.
The friendly Dutch people certainly know how to build walls. Their wall is only meant to keep illegal immigrants from leaving the harbor area of Hoek van Holland. But the purpose is like any other fence: keep the wrong people out of your country.
Now, this is really bad, A fence between 2 major United Nations members, India and Pakistan. Is there a problem there we haven't heard about?
Wait. Another one in Europe! Is it possible? Spain erected a barbed wired fence, guarded by soldiers, in Ceuta, on the border with Morocco, in order to keep illegal workers (without bombs) out of Spain.
So as you can see, the hypocrisy is rampant. NPR reports recently have been filled with stories about how the Israeli security fence is cutting off Palestinians from their olive groves, or how Palestinian families are divided. Little is mentioned about the constant state of fear in Israel or about grieving Israeli families or the long term affects of homicide bombings on survivors. The tragedy is on both sides. The terrorist sponsored by Yasir Arafat and supported by UN, EU and even American tax dollars have seen to that.
Calling the Fence an "Apartheid Wall" is like calling the Arab world the last bastion of human rights. Israel is a free democracy and one of the tiniest nations on the planet. Why does this barrier draw the ire of the rest of the world when clearly millions more people are separated by fences that are built to stop mayhem and prevent people from escaping to a better life.
Looking outside the box, I'm Dan Lenard