Since the ICJ ruling on the Israeli security fence and the consequent General Assembly resolution - with the backing all European states -, painstaking research has been conducted to reveal how hypocritical the EU acted in this decision. With triumphant blare articles by fence protagonists informed us that border fences exist around the Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla on the African continent, and that similar structures are being built in Poland and Hungary, to prevent illegal immigration and human trafficking. All these "disclosures" summed up like "They build fences, but deny Israel the same right."

Can anyone seriously be pretending not to realize that border control - including fences, patrols, and technical supervision - is as common around the world as the borders themselves? Are we to suppose that the USA voted with Israel for fear of being the next victim of the ICJ because of their Mexican border fence, or that Micronesia unhypocritically wanted to proudly declare its commitment to fences?

There were times, when I tried to discuss the issue with such people, patiently explaining that the ICJ ruling and the GA resolution did not rule against the fence as such, but against its location. I pointed out that all other fences which were enumerated as analogies differed in that one decisive attribute: they were all on the territory of the state which built them, and if expropriations were executed for fence construction, these were never imposed on individuals on the far side of the border.

But it seems you can with better results preach the gospel to a brick wall than make those fanatics accept - no, not even perceive - simple facts. I should rather prepare myself for the next round of their unlimited fantasy. We did not have as yet a listing of ICJ judges who have fences around their private properties. Or they could circulate pictures of the ICJ building at The Hague, pointing out those hypocritical fences and walls which surround it.

© Copyright 2004 by AxisofLogic.com

Axel Muessigbrod was born in 1951, studied history and german philology and holds an MA and Ph.D. in medieval history.  He lectured at Muenster university until 1991 before turning to computer science and work as a trainer in further education and as a technical writer for software companies. He is a contributing writer to Axis of Logic.