The things we build

I was at a book launch earlier in the week, for Arthur Neilson's In Your Eyes a Sandstorm, and of course question period focused less on the fascinating ins and outs of the book and his project of collecting Palestinian narratives, and more on "do you think we should be worried that Israel has nuclear weapons." 

Another comment (there were a lot more comments than questions, alas) was on some sociological ground of "removing threats perceived and real" with the idea that this would build trust and make peace possible. 

Then I thought, if I looked at the fences and walls and gates and doors separating Israelis from Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, I'd start to imagine things were pretty scary on the other side too. 

I mean just look at it:

Thinking about 'freedom'

"take your family to Burger King or for Fried Chicken, and choose any carbonated drink you want, that is your liberty, and no one will interfere with it." 

Ibrahim Nasrallah in

Balcony of Delirium 

The woman on the left of this picture is about to be stopped, searched and questioned by the Israeli soldiers on the bottom right. They will question her while the two international observers (midle right in red and blue) observe. She does not have the freedom to walk from a residential area in the West Bank city of Hebron to the main shopping district without being harassed.