Eau Claire County - The Tale of Two Jails

After arriving back in Eau Claire, WI this summer for a visit, I found the city embroiled in a debate over construction of a new jail downtown. Clearly, this is an important issue for Eau Claire residents and after familiarizing myself with the various perspectives and arguments regarding the jail I felt it necessary to place this debate in the context of my experiences in the Middle East and the political realities of the Palestinian-Israel Conflict.

While the $58 million price tag for building a jail downtown is one of the primary criticisms of the proposed jail project, we as Eau Claire County residents have spent nearly the same amount via United States aid to Israel over the past 40 years. Since 1949, the U.S. has provided Israel with over $160 billion (2009 dollars) in direct foreign assistance, and when calculated on a local level, Eau Claire County taxpayers have provided Israel with roughly $53 million in military and economic aid. Nearly 99% of this aid has come since Israel preemptively attacked Egyptian forces on the Sinai Peninsula to begin the Six-Day War in 1967 and occupied the Palestinian territories in the same year. Moreover, Israel has been the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the world and will receive an additional $30 billion in military aid over the next ten years.

Citizens of Eau Claire County have contributed nearly enough tax payer dollars to Israel over the past 40 years to cover the cost of a much needed jail in Eau Claire, but ironically our money has been used to create virtual open air prisons in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In both of these occupied Palestinian territories, Israel controls the population registries, air space, and all border crossings for people and goods.

Within the West Bank, Israel has imposed an extensive closure regime of over 65 checkpoints and 550 roadblocks, severely limiting Palestinian freedom of movement and access to roughly 40% of the West Bank. Furthermore, Israel is constructing a 436 mile prison-like separation barrier between the West Bank and Israel with the vast majority of the planned and constructed route being built on Palestinian land. Under the pretext of security, Israel has imprisoned the Palestinian population in the West Bank – denying or severely restricting the access of Palestinian villages to their farmland, limiting access to essential medical facilities in Jerusalem, and severely inhibiting movement to work and schools.

Following Hamas’ takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel with Egyptian support resulting from Israeli and U.S. pressure has completely sealed the Palestinian territory off from the rest of the world. Since 1996, Gaza has been fully encompassed by a prison-like separation barrier similar to that in the West Bank with the exception of its coastline which is controlled by Israel. Restrictions imposed by the Israeli government for the past two years have made it virtually impossible for Palestinians in Gaza to leave the territory, and approximately 50% of those who have requested permission to seek medical treatment in Israel have been denied. Further, it is estimated that over 300 Gazans have died as a result of being denied access to necessary medical care. The Israeli siege on Gaza has made it impossible for Palestinians to rebuild their decimated infrastructure, and the extremely rigid restrictions on the transfer of material goods and humanitarian aid have crippled their capacity to engage in economic activities and have caused a poverty rate of over 50%.

Another criticism leveled against the downtown jail proposal is the potential demolition of neighborhood homes to make way for the new jail. While these concerns are legitimate, Israel’s policy of house demolitions in the occupied territories, including Jerusalem, has resulted in the demolition of over 18,000 Palestinian homes since 1967. Unlike in Eau Claire where most of the houses proposed for demolition are rental properties, the homes destroyed in Palestine are owned and lived in by families whose ancestors have lived in Palestine for hundreds if not thousands of years. Although most Palestinian houses are demolished for being built without a permit, the building permits themselves are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain. Furthermore, house demolitions conducted by an occupying power in occupied territory are clearly illegal under international law.

From my perspective, the ultimate reality of the proposed downtown jail is that opposition to the plan derives in a large part from the adages “not in my backyard” and “out of sight, out of mind.” The unfortunate reality of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict is not dissimilar. It is quite easy for U.S. citizens to fund the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories when the Conflict receives such little exposure in the mainstream media. Consequently, we don’t have a strong understanding of the on the ground realities in Palestine and Israel or see the destructive impacts of the occupation’s prison-like restrictions on the lives of Palestinians.