Anyone who has traveled through Ben Gurion airport in Israel knows that it is a unique experience. For most Israeli Jews, the experience is comforting, a quick and accommodating entry into a nation created and developed for their exclusive benefit. For Palestinian-Americans and many activists working in occupied Palestine it is quite a different experience. Most of these travelers are held for hours and questioned repeatedly, some of who are stripped naked and in some cases (especially in the last two years) denied entry.
As I write from Ramallah, I recall my and my brother's recent experience there. After a sleepless 15-hour trip from New York, we arrived at the airport and went directly to the check-in booth. After waiting in a short line, a friendly woman asked for our passports, but her demeanor immediately soured once she viewed them. We were asked to step aside and after about 15 minutes a woman from airport security told us to follow her into one of the detainment rooms. Given the countless stories of harassment I had heard and read about before my trip, I wasn't so foolish to think that my journey through Ben Gurion would be a walk in the park. I had initially anticipated a four-hour wait, interrogation, and a thorough pat down by Israel's finest.
No comments:
Post a Comment