Walls between People

“The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand”, Barack Obama said in his Berlin speech in July 2008, standing not far from where the Wall once divided the city. “The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.“ On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the third installment of AMERICA RELOADED was devoted to walls and borders that continue to separate peoples. After an initial presentation of striking photography by Alexandra Novesseloff, selected examples were discussed. What is the Obama administration’s approach to tearing down existing walls, especially in places where US interests are involved, e.g. the Israeli border, the US-Mexican border fence, or the invisible borders between the West and the Muslim world?