the fortress dillusion..

many moons ago when i was a law student basking under the sun of far away lands - a dorm neighbour cast his opinion lightly about how Israelis suffer from a fortress mentality.. it was clearly a statement that carried negativity.. it was made of criticism and judgment.. even a bit of a mockery.. and it disturbed me..

and i insisted he was wrong.. describing us more like a kumbaya humming middle eastern Jamaica - island style.. what fortress..

but - now as an adult - with a family and two little girls - i couldn't agree more.. we are so heavily and tightly wrapped in the fabric of our walls and so strangled by our mental mote that nothing could be further from the truth..

we follow closely as town after syrian town is blown away.. we watch the jittery turks decide to help then not help and then yes help their terrorised neighbours.. we see egypt beg to persuade the west that 'normal' life is back on track.. digging a whole new canal because normal people dig canals.. who even cares about Iraq anymore when isis can slaughter people just about anywhere..

except for us..

here is Israel we are drunk from our false sense of security.. completely convinced that our unrivalled military edge keeps us leagues ahead of our psychotic neighbours almost organically.. the fact that our borders are shockingly porous and have flimsy fences that any private school would demand to reinforce doesn't shake us into seeing the truth..

saudi arabia has denounced the impending deal with iran (who is to terror what aviva is to tennis).. it tickles us that an arab country can openly push our agenda and even threaten to attack iran.. but not enough to move forward and lower our virtual walls and negotiate collective peace..

because we are a fortress nation.. and we like it that way..

all sarcasm aside.. i wish and hope that the violence that is sweeping our region end soon.. i wish and hope that no more people be murdered in the name of any ideology and that tonight the people of the middle east sleep safely..

good night..