The Israeli government first began construction on the wall in June 2002 and maintains that it is necessary for security purposes, namely preventing would-be suicide bombers from entering Israel. The 420-mile-long wall is composed of a concrete base with a 16-foot-high wire-and-mesh superstructure, rolls of razor wire and a 13-foot-deep ditch. It is also equipped with electronic sensors and a “trace road” that no one can cross without leaving footprints. About half complete, the barrier also features watchtowers and solid concrete walls in certain areas.
However, many critics have condemned the Israeli government’s actions for human rights violations and a disregard for Palestinian life, a point SJP hopes to emphasize in its protest. According to SJP founding member Amal Ahmad ’12, an international student from Palestine, the student body has “a lot of misconceptions about the reality of the situation and about the Palestinian people themselves.” Ahmad and SJP want to share her firsthand experiences of the effects of the Israeli-built barrier by building a wood wall exhibit to simulate living in such conditions and raise campus awareness of the plight of the Palestinians.
This issue is so entrenched in political controversy that Ahmad repeatedly stressed, “We aren’t anti-anyone; we aren’t a political group — this is about social advocacy and justice.” She feels that the human rights issue posed by the wall is being “masked by religious slogans, and it’s disgusting” and sees the barrier as “an apartheid wall that isolates numerous Palestinian cities and villages and seeks to completely annex East Jerusalem into Israel proper.” In addition to a wooden model of the wall, the exhibit will have maps and photos to educate students on the nature of the barrier.
“Everyone wants peace, but peace for who? What kind of peace? People like to try and equate the struggle to two kids fighting on a playground, but it’s isn’t; one kid has his foot on the other kid’s neck,” Ahmad said. In addition to bringing attention to human rights violations, SJP hopes to raise awareness of America’s support for the Israeli government. “We are doing this here because people don’t seem to know about the U.S.’ blind support of Israel,” Ahmad said, “and their tax dollars fund this wall.”