Peace groups show replica of barrier built by Israel

Display in Detroit explores its effect on Palestinians

By Judy Lin / The Detroit News

DETROIT - Religious leaders of Muslim, Christian and Jewish faiths looked on as bulldozers razed 58 Palestinian homes in the Gaza Strip to make way for a massive barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians.

"We witnessed even then what Bishop (Desmond) Tutu said was the worst apartheid he had ever seen," the Rev. Edwin Rowe of Central United Methodist Church said of his visit to the Middle East three years ago.

A grassroots campaign by more than 30 Metro Detroit peace organizations will bring a replica of the 30-foot wall, known to some as the apartheid wall, to the church in downtown Detroit on Thursday.

Local religious leaders like Rowe will participate in symbolic dismantling of the wall at 5 p.m. and urge Israel to take down the barrier, which they say has isolated Palestinians from jobs, water, land and other resources.

The replica wall is on a tour across U.S. cities to highlight the adverse effects on Palestinian lives. The tour, which began in Eugene, Ore., also is scheduled to stop in Ann Arbor and Hillsdale.

Last month, the General Assembly passed a resolution demanding that Israel obey a World Court ruling to dismantle sections of the barrier because it was rising on Palestinian land. The two sides don't agree on a boundary.

Israel believes the unfinished barrier - which includes electronic fencing, concrete and wire walls and trenches and guard towers - has been an effective tool in warding off Palestinian attackers and suicide bombers.

"This is an effort to bring some level of peace. It's certainly not an apartheid wall. Only 5 percent of it will be a wall, the remaining 95 percent will be fence," said Allen Gale, associate director of the Jewish Community Council.

The wall not only robs land from Palestinians, but "102,000 trees have already been uprooted," said Hasan Newash, director of Palestine Office-Michigan.

The wall has cut off Palestinians from their farms, medical facilities, and isolated entire villages, Newash said. Detroit Area Peace with Justice Network, in partnership with the Congress of Arab American Organizations, plans to show a video illustrating the effects of the wall.

"It's just making it impossible for people to survive," Newash said. "It's a deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing."

Organizers say they want the United States government to reveal whether any federal aid is being used to support the construction of the 437-mile barrier. Gale said American dollars are being used primarily for resettlement and some for military assistance.

Gale said that while the wall has created some hardships, it has protected Israelis from sniper and suicide attacks.

"Israel knows it's not the perfect solution, but it's what they feel will bring more peaceful conditions," Gale said.

Rowe said there's no justification for cutting people off from their livelihoods.

"When you have people that were involved in the South African apartheid movement saying this is bad or worse, that's just a lot of inhumanity," Rowe said.

You can reach Judy Lin at (313) 222-2072 or jlin@ detnews.com.

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