Hebron: The Fence Beside Our Door by Art Gish

[I am reposting an old essay by Art Gish, who was killed two weeks ago in a farming accident  on his farm in Athens County, Ohio. — George Hartley]
January 21, 2004

Just over a year ago, on Christmas day, 2002, Israeli soldiers constructed a
high fence and gate on our street right beside our door in Hebron, cutting
off access to Shuhada Street for us and everyone else in the Chicken Market.
We then had to walk two blocks north to get to Shuhada Street and come back
down the street to walk south on that street from our apartment.




Members of our Christian Peacemaker Team wondered why the Israelis put up
that fence, what the meaning of that barrier was in the larger picture of
what was happening in Hebron.

Now we have a clearer understanding. That tall fence and gate outside our
door is part of the apartheid wall being built all around the West Bank,
walling in (imprisoning) most of the Palestinian people into small areas
(cantons or reservations), and at the same time taking about half of the
West Bank. The Palestinian land on the outside of the wall is becoming
Israeli land.

It gets worse. That wall, that barrier, that fence, is truly a wall of
hate, a wall of separation, an apartheid wall. Slowly, the streets on the
other side of the wall in Hebron are for Jews only. Settlers here say those
streets have now been "purified". More and more areas are being ethnically
cleansed.

Increasingly Israeli soldiers are stopping us on the street and asking us to
identify our religion. How we answer that question determines which streets
we are allowed to walk on.

Ever since first coming to Hebron in 1995, I have been disturbed by all the
evidences of racism embedded in the occupation. The reality of racism here
is now becoming more stark. Apartheid, the separation of peoples, is
becoming more and more real. This year I have little contact with Israeli
settlers, because we are separated by the fence, the wall.

As a believer in the oneness of God, the oneness of creation, the oneness of
humanity, I find that apartheid wall deeply offensive. It contradicts
everything I hold dear and sacred. It is totally unacceptable. It must be
stopped. But sadly, it is being paid for by U.S. taxpayers. I wonder why.

People have built many walls of separation throughout history. Every one
of them has fallen, and every one of them now looks foolish. This wall will
also come down someday.

I wonder, however, how many more people on both sides will have to die
before we learn that we must either live together or die together.

° ° °

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support violence
reduction efforts around the world. To learn more about CPT's peacemaking
work, please visit our website at:  http://www.cpt.org.
Photos of our projects may be viewed at:  http://www.cpt.org/gallery