Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

Summary of a JPost article by Daily Alert of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

After a war in 1974, Cyprus was divided in two, with the north under Turkish control and the south in Greek hands. For a few years after the war the violence continued with terror attacks across the cease-fire line.

However, the violence subsided significantly after the Turkish authorities made a dividing wall, passing along the entire length of Cyprus, including barbed wire, a wide buffer zone in some places, and even concrete barriers.

This fence is not loved by anyone, but the evidence is indisputable - the daily friction between the populations largely disappeared, and the division has brought a significant degree of stability and even relative prosperity. Since the war and the construction of this barrier, a new generation of Cypriots has grown up. For them, the conflict and terror attacks are ancient history.

Suddenly, at the end of April, the Turkish leadership opened the barriers to allow for the free movement of both populations, and tens of thousands of Cypriots from both sides went to check out the other side.

Despite some reports of bitterness, for the most part this experiment appears to be moving in a positive direction, toward reconciliation and hope - though such a barrier will not solve all the problems of Israelis and Palestinians, nor substitute in the long term for renewed efforts to reach a negotiated peace agreement.

I agree that good fences make good neighbors in a hostile situation with a few caveats. In establishing the fence, territory left outside may become more dangerous. The territory left out may also be de facto assigned to the portion to be traded away. It may also limit the ability of the army for hot pursuit, especially when they want to roll a lot of tanks into the territories.