West Bank Security Barrier Construction Resumes
Construction will resume on Israel’s West Bank security fence, five years after it was halted due to budget shortfalls.
The construction of a segment of the barrier around the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem was approved Wednesday by Israel’s Supreme Court, according to reports. The construction will begin in the next few weeks. A segment of the security fence around Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, is slated to be constructed in 2013.
Construction on the security fence began in 2002, during the second Palestinian intifada, in order to reduce terrorist attacks inside Israel. It has been condemned internationally for being built on West Bank land.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
