Today I experienced the meaning of occupation. In what is a distance of about 45 miles, I spent 10 hours to get from Swaifiyah (in Amman, Jordan) to the Old City in Jerusalem, seven of those hours at the Israeli border, and maybe a total of an hour and a half in three different interrogations, waiting to be told if I was going to be allowed to go through or rejected a visa. Granted, I was a foreigner who was receiving “special attention” because the “discrepency” between the color of my skin and the color my US passport, however, Israel’s use of intimidation and fear was no less restrained towards the indigenous people of the land (i.e. Palestinians). I witessed Palestinian children at the brink of tears because they were separated from their parents hours on end not knowing if they would ever see them again, a Palestinian women running frantically to and fro trying to retrieve her “travel” documents and being denied any attention by the Israeli border agents (sadly enough those documents were the only living proof she had to verify her Palestinian identity, without them… or even with… Israel could reject her of ever having any connection to Palestine even if her family had been living in Palestine for centuries), an old Palestinian (more than one actually!) forced to stand in the heat of summer day in a LONG line to be issued a stamp to enter HIS home… Palestine.
The interrogations were ridiculous and clearly showed the apartheid regime’s racist and discriminatory policies. Most of the questions had absolutely nothing to do with the security of Israel. The border agents were sure to emphasize to me that I was Muslim and I should have known better than to visit Israel. Throughout my trip I had been emphasizing that I’m here to visit the holy sites and I specifically mentioned Judaic, Christian, and Islamic holy sites. At one point, the border agent asked me how I could possibly believe in Jesus(peace be upon him). He couldn’t fathom that Jesus(pbuh) is considered a revered prophet in Islam and is highly respected. He was “apparently” stunned that I wanted to visit the Church of Nativity, where it is believed that Jesus(pbuh) was born. Anyhow, the border interrogations were simply useless and a complete waste of time and I’m being realistic! Most of the people that go through these checkpoints pose absolutely no threat to the security of Israel. They simply want to make it a living nightmare and to make sure no one, Palestinians and non-Palestinians alike, ever dares to try to come to Israel ever again.
Here’s a picture of the Allenby/Sheikh Hussein bridge (at the border of Jordan and Palestine… I mean so-called “Israel”). I’ve got a lot more to say about the specifics of the exhausting border checkpoint, but I’ll save that for now… just ask me personally and I’ll tell you all about it.
Allenby/King Hussein Bridge
