Kerem Shalom

Kerem Shalom (Hebrew: כֶּרֶם שָׁלוֹם, lit. Vineyard of Peace) is a kibbutz affiliated with the Eshkol Regional Council on the Gaza Strip-Israel-Egypt border.

History

The kibbutz was founded in 1967 adjacent to the triborder area by members of Hashomer Hatzair. Its name includes the word shalom since the members believed that the location would play a role in establishing peace and ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Haaretz described it as "a small community with a communal-secular way of life, which marks holidays and holds culture evenings together and observes total mutual responsibility - in education, culture, health and its economy." According to Ilan Regev, the community manager, "the kibbutz, which was founded in 1967, fell apart in 1995, after members left, but in 2001, it was reestablished." In 2011, the kibbutz had 35 members and candidates (families and individuals), about 30 children and eight members of a youth movement on a year of service prior to serving in the IDF. Eight families joined the kibbutz after Operation Cast Lead. The kibbutz started a campaign in 2011 to attract new residents, called "Zionism 2011". Proximity to the Gaza Strip, being subjected to Palestinian mortar attacks and its association with the abduction of Gilad Shalit, which happened close by, has resulted in the kibbutz struggling to increase its membership according to Regev. He described the kibbutz as "unique in the country in an area that in effect determines the borders of the state, the way it was at the start of Zionism, with an attempt to shape a just and egalitarian society." The Israeli government required the kibbutz to populate at least 40% of the 100 allocated residential slots within a specified time which, according to Regev, required 80 new members and candidates. The state can reduce the "means of production - land, water and the like" if its requirements are not met.

Border control

Border controls are measures taken by a country to monitor or regulate its borders. Border controls are put in place to control the movement of people, animals and goods into as well as out of a country. Specialized government agencies are usually created to perform border controls. Such agencies may perform various functions such as customs, immigration, security, quarantine, beside other functions. Official designations, jurisdictions and command structures of these agencies vary considerably.

History

Border controls were marked by their widespread absence until World War I. John M Keynes, Europe before the War, transit without passport or other formality.

Functions

Border controls exist to:

Border Crossing

Border Crossing may refer to:

Crossing Border may refer to:

Border Crossing (novel)

Border Crossing is a novel written by English author Pat Barker, and first published in 2001.

The novel explores the controversial issue of children who have committed murder, in particular the aftermath after their sentence is served out. A tense psychological thriller, Border Crossing investigates the crimes of particularly violent children, the notion of evil and the possibility of redemption.

Plot synopsis

When Tom Seymour, a child psychologist, plunges into a river to save a young man from suicide, he unwittingly reopens a chapter from his past he had hoped to forget. For Tom already knows the young man as Danny Miller. When Danny was ten, Tom presented evidence that helped commit him to prison for the murder of the elderly Lizzie Parks. Danny, full of suppressed memory and now free from prison, turns to Tom to help him recount what really happened, and discover the truth.

Reluctantly, Tom is drawn back into Danny's world, a place where the border between good and evil, innocence and guilt are blurred and confused. But when Danny's demands on Tom become extreme, Tom wonders whether he has crossed the line between the professional and personal relationship, speculating upon, but never realising, the perilous danger he is in until it is almost too late.

Kerem Shalom border crossing

Kerem Shalom border crossing is a border crossing on the Gaza Strip-Israel-Egypt border managed by the Israel Airports Authority.

Operation

The crossing is used by trucks carrying goods from Israel to the Gaza Strip. In 2012, the rate of traffic was 250 trucks a day.

Until 2007, European monitors from the European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah used the Kerem Shalom crossing to get to the Rafah Border Crossing. The EUBAM heads a Liaison Office at Kerem Shalom which receives real-time video and data feeds of the activities at the Rafah crossing. The Liaison Office meets regularly to review implementation of the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing, to resolve any dispute pertaining to the agreement, and to perform other tasks specified therein. The Liaison Office is manned by liaison officers from EUBAM, the Palestinian Authority, and the Government of Israel.

Since 2010, NIS 75 million have been invested in upgrading and expanding the crossing, which is capable of handling 450 trucks a day.