The Wall at Bethlehem

I had intended to write today about my visit to the Old City of Jerusalem, but events today have put that off to another time. Today, I had my first experience with the Wall and the security between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It deserves mention.

I have been in and out of Bethlehem several times, usually without trouble. I remained in the car, showing my passport when required. R. would get out of the car, walk to the check post, show his documents, walk back to the car, and we'd be off. Today, I had to leave the car, walk about 50 meters past the Wall to the pedestrian processing center, and be, well, processed. No explanation for the change in routine—that's apparently the point. R. drove the car through and waited for me on the other side. He had a long wait.

I got some direction from a soldier at the Wall, and walked down into the center. It was Spartan and strongly built—all galvanized steel and pipe barricades. I passed through the entry gate and into a long hall. There were no instructions in English and no one in sight. There were three barricaded gates out of the hall, and a marked emergency exit that was locked. None of the barricade turnstiles worked. I was starting to feel like a rat in a psychology experiment. I thought of finally calling out "Hello, anyone here?" but received no response. I tried all the barricades again. No luck. Then, with no exit possible, I settled down to wait it out. I figured that more people would eventually show up to be processed and that if nothing else, they would have to eventually let us through or feed us. After about five minutes, another group of tourists wandered in, milling about just as confused as I was.

Finally, a Palestinian who knew his way around arrived and, finding the gates locked, shouted loud enough to get some action. One of the barred gates' lights suddenly turned green and we could enter in small groups of two and three. Once through the gate it was fairly quick for us foreigners, although the Palestinians with us were queued in a separate line and received additional interrogation. They were still in the hall when I left. It took me about 25 minutes. R. tells me that, during the early hours, with workers trying to get to their job in Israel, as many as five thousand souls can be waiting for processing. Then, they all have to get home in the evening. I wonder how long it will be before someone realizes they can make a lot of money off the Palestinians by charging for passage. Of course, tourists usually stay on their buses.

I realized that I was misjudging the efficiency of the processing center. I initially thought it was just stupid, poorly managed, and almost tragic-comic. I now believe that the Wall operates not for my convenience, but precisely for the opposite: it is to discourage traffic across the "border" by making the daily process as humiliating, demeaning and just plain difficult as possible. It is foremost about separation and consolidation: separation of a populace from, and consolidation of territories within.

Palestinians can lose hours just trying to get one kilometer from their homes, and they absolutely hate the Wall. Make no mistake, regardless of the security benefits, which are dubious to me, if the Israelis ever want reconciliation with the Palestinians this Wall is a terrible mistake. The U.S. might take the lesson to heart at its borders. Once you build a wall, diminishing its memory will take more than a generation or two after it is gone.

I thought it was ironic that, after passing through security, I found a wall poster advising me that it was vacation time all year round in Israel. This seems a curious message to those desperately trying to earn a living for their families.

Over thirty years ago I used to pass from Jordan into Israel at the Allenby Bridge. This was well before Israeli built the separate border terminal for foreigners there, and long before VIP status was instituted; in those days we walked with the Palestinians through the barbed-wire-fenced open-air compound, a great mass of humanity poled through by soldiers on each side of the gate. It was chaotic, noisy, hot, dusty and dangerous. But, it had the sense of being temporary. Now all those miseries have been institutionalized, cast in concrete, and inflicted on many more Palestinians that ever once crossed near Jericho. Does anyone believe this is progress? Is there anyone out there so deluded that they believe this is a humane and proportionate security provision? I am saddened by a realization of all that has been lost, and how little has been gained in this country.

In approaching the Wall with its observation towers it's easy believe you're entering a prison, but for me, when you approach the gate at Bethlehem, I first think of the entry to Jurassic Park. It's absolutely eerie. The question is: which side of the Wall holds the predators?