Maggie's Farm

Border Patrol, Israeli Style

Now that's what I call a well-guarded border: at right, the Israeli-controlled border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.  Though Israel is pulling back its settlers, it appears it will not loosen control of the border checkpoints around the territory.  While terrorism is a day-to-day concern for many Israelis, Israel is equally cognizant of the even greater long-term threat posed by mass Palestinian and Arab immigration, which threatens to reduce Jews to a minority within Israel itself.  Hence the need for strict border controls and rigid enforcement of immigration laws.  If this country devoted one-tenth the effort to its own border, I suspect we'd see illegal immigration brought under quick control.  Hopefully it will not take another terrorist attack to convince us of the necessity of securing our highly vulnerable borders.