You may be wondering:

This morning there was a piece on TV about the Separation Wall. It’s clear that the kids want to talk about it. Israel looked really bad. To be honest, I think the reporter’s approach was right – the wall is a terrible thing. At the same time, I don’t want to completely trash Israel for my kids. What’s an intelligent way of talking about this, without letting Israel off the hook, but also making sure my kids get how complicated it is?

The conversation you may hold with your child:

• Where are there fences or walls in your life? (Home? Community? School? etc)
• Where are there fences or walls in your life? (Home? Community? School? etc)
• With each of these fences or walls – what is good about them? (keep you safe? Protect? Clarify?)
• With each of these fences or walls – what is bad about them? (Keep you out? Lock people in?)
• Who do you think decided where the fences/walls should be?
• Why do you think they decided to put the fences/walls where they did?
• Is the front door to your house always locked? What do you feel about that?
• Do you lock the door to your bedroom?Why? / Why not?
• Are any rooms ever locked in your house? (Parents room, bathroom, etc) Why?/Why not?
• Have you ever come up against a locked door in your house? What did you feel?

Perhaps leading to:

At its root, the conversation you’ve just had is about the security and protection that walls and fences can offer on the one hand, and the exclusion and indignities that they can cause on the other hand. The language you and your children share is now sufficiently enriched for an ensuing (or later) conversation about the Security Barrier. Why was it built? Who does it benefit and who does it damage? Where has it been built? etc