Sergey
Kadinsky
Written Works
This article was written in the
Summer of 2006, as a Media Fellow at the Jerusalem office of The Israel Project
The Security of Jerusalem
6-19-06
“You can see everything from here!” These were the first words of former
IDF spokeswoman Miri Eisen, as we completed the climb up the staircase of
Samuel’s Tomb, a 908 meter high hill located five kilometers north of
Jerusalem. The views are inspiring, but we
were not there on a spiritual pilgrimage. Since her retirement from the IDF,
Eisen has used her experience and knowledge of the land to give tours to foreign
journalists, explaining how the state of
Israel arrived at the decision to
build the Security Fence, and how it zigzags around certain Arab villages,
putting some on the Palestinian side, and others on the Israeli side.
Looking north, we were able to see the city of
Ramallah, the burial place of PLO leader
Yasser Arafat, but just to the south of it were the northern outskirts of
Jerusalem. Above Ramallah are the Jewish
communities of Beit El and Psagot.
Samaria is the historic heartland of biblical
Israel, where holy sites to Judaism,
Christianity and Islam are used to secure the claims of each group to the land.
Eisen asks, “Can you see Givon? King David and his generals met.” Alongside this
hill is the Arab
village of
Jib, which carries on the hill’s
name. With the exception of
Hebron and east
Jerusalem, there are few communities in the
West Bank that have both Arab and Jewish populations. As
a result, nearby there is the Jewish community of Givon Hahadasha, or “new Givon.”
As we looked closer, Eisen pointed at what innocently appeared to be a new road.
“This is the route of the Security Fence, which is scheduled to be completed
around
Jerusalem this year.” Attacked by many members
of the foreign press as a land-grab, Eisen points out that it most of the
appeals against the proposed route of the Fence are written not by Palestinians,
but by Israelis. Some are sympathetic to Palestinian claims that the route would
divide properties and make travel inconvenient, and others represent the settler
movement, which fears that the Fence may ultimately become a border between
Israel and an independent
Palestinian state. Not only has the Supreme Court of Israel been instrumental in
having the route of the Fence moved, but on a number of occasions, completed
sections had to be taken down and rebuilt in order to comply with the decisions.
Eisen describes this as an example of the democracy that is
Israel- where courts and elected
officials, not the military that ultimately decides national security matters.
Another myth that Eisen debunks is that the Security Fence is an “Apartheid
Wall.” With only 5 percent of it actually comprising of a concrete wall, the
Security Fence contains 34 gates, mostly for Palestinian farmers whose land is
located on both sides of the fence. The precedent for the Fence came in 1994,
when 95 percent of the Gaza Strip was given to the Palestinian Authority.
Because the security barrier around
Gaza followed the Green Line, it was built
with little controversy. The barrier’s effectiveness was proven with not one
suicide bombing originating from
Gaza. The only exceptions were those that
occurred at checkpoints and at Jewish communities within
Gaza, which have all been evacuated in August
2005.
As we looked at the three meter high “anti-sniper wall” separating the
neighborhood of Gilo
from the Palestinian-ruled Beit Jala, we noticed a community trying desperately
to maintain a sense of normalcy. On the wall, murals show the landscape behind
the wall. In the valley separating the two communities, the highway viaduct to
Gush Etzion also contains walls, obstructing the view to the church that marks
the birthplace of Jesus.
“This wall is ugly,” Eisen remarks, “But there is no other way to get around it.
It saves lives on both sides.” When snipers use churches and residential areas
as bases, retaliation by
Israel can bring a heavy civilian
toll. Creating separation allows both sides to look beyond the conflict and
focus on problem within. In the past decade, the many of
Bethlehem’s Christian residents emigrated, and
hardline Islamist parties
gained popularity. At the same time, voices for moderation also began to emerge,
including Sari Nusseibeh, the director of Al Quds University, whose Abu Dis
campus is located alongside the Security Fence.
Building a security barrier is expensive, and it is difficult it out. “Many
Jewish communities in
Judea and
Samaria have red roofs,” Eisen points out.
“However, in
Jerusalem the division is not as easily
defined, with mixed neighborhoods, and similar architecture in Jewish and Arab
homes. In addition, holy sites can also be difficult to map out. While
Bethlehem is located on the Palestinian side
of the Fence, the tomb of Rachel is proposed to be annexed by
Jerusalem due to its importance to the Jewish
community.
Standing atop the
tomb of Samuel, the emotions of seeing the Promised Land inspired many
nationalists on both sides, who claim the entire landscape to be solely theirs,
but saving lives must always take a greater priority. Having greatly reduced the
amount of suicide bombings and reprisals, the Security Fence continues to
fulfill its purpose.
Miri Eisen. The Arab village of
Beit Jala is in the
background.
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