116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Home / Opinion / Letters to the Editor
Let wall stand until Mideast terror ends
The Gazette Opinion Staff
Dec. 8, 2009 11:02 pm
A response to a half-baked and misleading suggestion regarding walls (Dec. 6, Patrick Hitchon guest column): We are all impressed that Hitchon remembers the litany of numerical identifiers of the U.N. resolutions pertaining to the wall separating Israel from its neighbors of the West bank.
However, he seems to conveniently have difficulty remembering the simple reasons for which it was built. Here are some numbers to remember: More than 1,000 Israelis, as well as 64 foreign nationals, were slaughtered by suicide bombers and other assaults. Beginning in September 2000, 17,405 attacks in Israel and territories were recorded. Shots were fired at passing vehicles 2,199 times, roadside bombs were detonated 1,091 times, 64 Israelis were killed and 657 bombs were found and disarmed before they exploded.
Since its completion, Israel's Gaza/West bank security fence has proved to be extremely effective in preventing aggressive infiltrations. Walls separate people. This one helps people on both sides survive.
Hitchon is correct only in that many U.N. Security Council resolutions on the subject have not taken hold. But who is to blame? Who did not abide to the terms of the resolutions and preferred the lobbing of Qassam rockets and sending suicide bombers?
So, I say, leave that wall alone - at least until terrorism is eradicated in the region and people of all creeds and religions can finally live in just and equitable peace.
Joe Assouline
Iowa City
Opinion content represents the viewpoint of the author or The Gazette editorial board. You can join the conversation by submitting a letter to the editor or guest column or by suggesting a topic for an editorial to editorial@thegazette.com