By the way, every year on December 28th, the Catholic church recalls and commemorates the tragic slaughter of these children of Bethlehem two millennia ago.
(Frustratingly, this December 28 event has the peculiarly sweet-sounding name of "Feast of the Holy Innocents".)In short, for any pilgrim going to Bethlehem a visit to Rachel's tomb is historically a must-see!
However, due to the fact that there is a behemoth wall and often-closed checkpoint at that location now under Israeli orders, few pilgrims in recent years have been able to pass by Rachel's Tomb.
I was therefore happy to learn that this Christmas 2007 the crossing at Rachel's Tomb would be open to both Palestinians and to Pilgrims crossing in either direction.
However, when I arrived at the Israeli side of the 25 foot high double-wall, I was taken aback by the audacity of the Israeli government. Painted on the Israeli side were large 18-inch high letters claiming that Israel wished humanity and the country "peace".
Everyone whom I have talked to in either Palestine or Israel about the writing about "peace" at the Wall entering Bethlehem find the statements almost obscene in the context with which Israel has proceeded with the building of walls and checkpoints over the past years and months.Despite the checkpoint being open only a few Jews are allowed each year to visit the tombs and pray.
This is the case even though both Muslims and Christians see it as a pilgrimage site for their faith. BEYOND ISRAEL'S POTEMKIN FACADES A "Potemkin Village" or "Potmekin Façade" is an old Russian term used to describe an illusion created by a government in order to portray life in a town or village as much-better-than-it-really is.
During my short tour of Israel, its checkpoints and barrier walls, I had the feeling that a lot of what was easily accessible was, in fact, a façade for short-term visitors to fall prey to.
It is therefore of little wonder that perhaps after the construction of miles of barrier walls that the facades are finally having a positive effect on the tourist industry's approach to Israel. For example, although Jordan has experienced few bombings of any sort in recent years--in contrast to Israel--, travel agents and travel industry leaders have continued to spend more money advertising and promoting vacations to Israeli locations (including to Israel's seaside resort of Eilat on the Read Sea) than has the industry been willing to spend on trips to Jordan.
In short, image is very important to Israel's tourist industry success, and the barrier walls (and bantuization of life for Palestinians in the Occupied territories) are part of painting a seductive image for the Western tourist and for capturing the potential Jewish émigré.It could well be that the recent rapprochement of Fatah, led by Palestinian President Abbas and the leaders of Israel are just a Potemkin Village for the TV cameras-not only this Christmas but for the U.S. elections in 2008.
One only has to look at the bizarre-looking maps of the Israeli-curled-Wall-fingers reaching deep into occupied Palestinian territory on the West Bank to see that no military planner would want to defend such atrociously ill-devised attempts to create a sense of peace and security via (1) simple propaganda, (2) image and neglect, and (3) cement wall construction.
The Israeli military is being asked to defend what is not really defendable for any length of time-that is, the military of Israel is being expected to simultaneously protect several hundred enclaves, any of which could cut off an illegal settlement on a moment's notice if one of Israeli's neighbors had a mind to support the destruction of entranceway.
This sort of Israeli security plan is not unlike the ridiculous and costly "Ronald Reagan Star Wars" program which went bust in the 1980s. In that expensive military boondoggle, the USA government sought to build a costly weapons system to defend the indefensible.
The Reagan fantasy plan was a security dream of being able to intercept any attack on the USA before it could happen. The Reagan Star Wars project cost 35 billion dollars before it was shot down by the 1990s. (Otherwise, it would have likely busted the U.S. economy soon thereafter.)
In short, finding Permanent Peace through wall buildings is an expensive mirage for Israelis (its military) and Israel visitors alike. GOOD NEWSThe good news is that every single weekend every week of the year at least one Israeli barrier wall or checkpoint in Israel or Palestine, both Israeli and Palestinian Peace activists are at work, letting the Press and media of Israel and the World know that Israel's Wall technology is not putting the Holy Land on a road to peace-NO MATTER how many times the Israeli government writes the word PEACE on the Wall.
There have even been a number of Orthodox Jewish coalitions joining hand-in-hand with their Muslim Arab brothers to lead protests in recent weeks.
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