The Separation Wall

We've had a lot of awesome discussions on the Israel-Palestine conflict here. Our program includes lectures from many people involved in education, media, government, and even our own professors.

A couple of weeks ago I had a long conversation with a fellow student as we tried to solve the problem. Mainly it was him throwing out ideas and me telling him why it wouldn't work. His most innovative suggestion was buying the Israelis another country of their own, specifically in SE Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. Our semester of education has taught me that it would never work, but its an interesting thought.

We've had a ton of guest speakers come who have been involved in all parts of the Jerusalem community. Some have said the 2 state solution is the only thing that will work. Others have said that the 2 state solution would never work. I'm still formulating my own opinion. My New Testament professor gave a devotion in which he said peace will never come to the Holy Land until the Prince of Peace returns.

A few days ago we went with one of our politically involved guest speakers to see the separation wall. The thing about this impressive looking wall is that it runs right through a Palestinian neighborhood. If the goal was to separate Palestinians from Palestinians, then they did a good job.

The wall has caused tons of problems, because it has blocked the people on the outside from the hospitals (a minor heart attack is usually fatal because there are no hospitals near enough), from adequate public-service funding (the public schools are crowded and neglected; the example he gave us was of kids having to walk on the wall to wall desks to use the bathroom during class), and from jobs in Jerusalem (You worked in the city? not anymore). Our guest speaker expressed that the wall is more a political statement than anything. 

I'm no expert on the subject, but since being here I've leaned so much about the conflict. I don't feel so bad that I've found no solution because a lot of people smarter than me have thought about it and come up short over the last 100+ years.