II. The Issues: Pondering the Fence

1. Episode One: What's in a Name?

From security fence to apartheid wall, the structure that the Israelis are building has garnered a plethora of titles. Understanding who calls it what gives insight as to their political leanings and attitude towards that structure. Just how many names are there?

Take your pick from fence/barrier/wall or security/separation/apartheid, and you are left with quite a number of permutations. First, though, consider the straight definitions taken out of 1985 (pre-Intifada I) American Heritage Dictionary.

Fence n. 1. A structure serving as an enclosure, barrier, or boundary, usually made of posts, boards, wire, or rails. 2. Archaic. A means of defense; protection.

Barrier n. 1. A fence, wall, or other structure built to bar passage. 2. Something that acts to hinder or restrict.

Wall n. 1. An upright structure of masonry, wood, plaster, or other building material serving to enclose, divide, or protect an area, esp. a vertical construction forming an inner partition or exterior siding of a building. 2. Often walls. A continuous structure of masonry or other material forming a rampart and built for defensive purposes.

Security n. 1. Freedom from risk or danger; safety. 2. Freedom from doubt, anxiety, or fear; confidence.

Separation n. 1. a. The act or process of separating 2. The place where a division or parting occurs.

Apartheid n. An official policy of racial segregation promulgated in the Republic of South Africa.

On the face of it, the first three definitions – fence, barrier, and wall - are all neutral. We see those kinds of structures every day without making snap judgments. It’s the descriptive word preceding each one that adds some spice. Security evokes a warm, fuzzy feeling like a security blanket. Separation could go either way; like in a marriage depending if the couple is trying to use it as a temporary solution to make amends or as a means towards divorce. Only apartheid is a pejorative term, recalling the illegitimate white minority regime that went the way of history in the early 1990s.

It would seem, then, that the issue is not what is the name of the structure but its function. No one seems to have a problem with Hadrian's Wall or The Wall of China, but most would agree that the Berlin Wall was a blot on humanity, the product of a totalitarian government trying to keep its own people from escaping. Very few people even know that a wall has separated the divided city of Nicosia between Greek Cyprus and Turkish Cyprus for nearly twenty years, which the Turks finally opened up in April of 2003. Despised by the locals, the world hardly noticed it.

What are they saying about the fence/wall/barrier on the Web? Tune in for Episode Two...