I hate the wall

I went with the Education Opportunites group that is here to Bethlehem and Jericho. I am not allowed to take my rental car into the Palestinian Autonomous Areas, that meant if I wanted to go to Bethlehem or Jericho I would have to catch a ride. Last year Israel began building a wall to fence in the Palestinian people. They do it because it is from these areas that the suicide bombers came. And in the sort term the results have been impressive.

BUT, building walls, isolating people, locking people into small areas and restricting them does not encourage love and cooperation, instead it breeds anger and resentment --- which too often turns into violence.

On section of the wall I saw this slogan painted

• Shame on Israel
• Shame on America

Is that a fair statement?

I guess it is one that we must each wrestle with.

Jericho is totally isolated. The city was like a ghost town. There is no work, and even if there was work, there is no money to pay anybody.

I have no doubt that the money that has been given to support the Palestinians is not making it into the hands and homes of the average person.

I wish I had a solution. All I know is walls have never worked.