As I mentioned, the alarm was set for 3:15 am on the 16th so that we would have enough time to get to Tel Aviv and through airport security. I didn't get all that much sleep that night... which was too bad, because the day of travel lasted for about 30 hours, as I recall.
It wasn't too hard to get up that early, and we went to wait by the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem's Old City for our ride to the airport. We saw an impromptu checkpoint on our way to Tel Aviv. We didn't get stopped, but it was just another sign of the control held over people in the area (at 4 in the morning!).
So, I'm sure you've heard that Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv is renowned for its high levels of security. We had a briefing about the airport during the Sabeel conference, so we knew what to be prepared for... which calmed our nerves (slightly). The first stop is a security check even before you get into the airport - we were asked where we were headed, and got through without any trouble.
Once we got inside, we were asked many more questions - what we had done in the area, how we knew each other, whether or not we were given any gifts, etc. I thought we had pretty standard (read: boring) answers to all of these questions, but we still rated as 5s on their security scale (1-6, where 1 is low and 6 is high). So we were saved from a strip search, but our bags were unpacked before us as the security people scanned through our stuff (bags, of course, full of dirty clothes that had been worn in 40C+ heat... I do not envy the person who had to go through them...)
I had some books that I had purchased from Sabeel in my bag, so I guess this raised some more flags - I was then asked how long I had spent in various cities in the West Bank. I then had an escort to the British Airways desk and then to the metal detectors. Nice. When we got our 5s, stickers with bar codes were stuck on our passports - these were scanned at every stage of the process.
It all went okay, but it was a bit... unnerving. Just to have someone going through your things, to be questioned for the books that you are reading, to be asked whether you spent a lot of time in Palestine. And this is what I, as a foreign citizen, was faced with. I have heard that it is much more difficult for Palestinians (those Palestinians who are allowed to use the airport, that is. Many must travel through Jordan).
The rest of security was fairly normal (metal detector scans, etc.), just a little more in-depth and strict when compared with airports in Canada. I found myself wondering if all of these extra security measures were necessary... Fear can be a powerful force.
The flights home were uneventful - just long. We had some time at Heathrow for a delicious noodle lunch and some time to purchase British treats like McVitie's digestive cookies (sorry, biscuits) with caramel (yum!). Janelle abandoned me at the Toronto airport while I waited for my flight home to Ottawa.
I had, up until this point in my trip, avoided any Facebook or email activity that could have raised suspicions at Ben Gurion Airport (we had been told that, if you raise enough flags, they might ask to see your social media accounts), so my journal at this point records: "Am enjoying friending pro-peace friends and orgs on Facebook while I'm waiting for the plane to board. Free speech is a glorious thing."
I'll post again soon about some of my overall reflections about the trip, but this brings the actual travelogue part of my blog to a close. And I did it before Christmas! Before Advent, even! Woot. Thanks for sticking with me, friends.
It wasn't too hard to get up that early, and we went to wait by the Jaffa Gate of Jerusalem's Old City for our ride to the airport. We saw an impromptu checkpoint on our way to Tel Aviv. We didn't get stopped, but it was just another sign of the control held over people in the area (at 4 in the morning!).
So, I'm sure you've heard that Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv is renowned for its high levels of security. We had a briefing about the airport during the Sabeel conference, so we knew what to be prepared for... which calmed our nerves (slightly). The first stop is a security check even before you get into the airport - we were asked where we were headed, and got through without any trouble.
Once we got inside, we were asked many more questions - what we had done in the area, how we knew each other, whether or not we were given any gifts, etc. I thought we had pretty standard (read: boring) answers to all of these questions, but we still rated as 5s on their security scale (1-6, where 1 is low and 6 is high). So we were saved from a strip search, but our bags were unpacked before us as the security people scanned through our stuff (bags, of course, full of dirty clothes that had been worn in 40C+ heat... I do not envy the person who had to go through them...)
I had some books that I had purchased from Sabeel in my bag, so I guess this raised some more flags - I was then asked how long I had spent in various cities in the West Bank. I then had an escort to the British Airways desk and then to the metal detectors. Nice. When we got our 5s, stickers with bar codes were stuck on our passports - these were scanned at every stage of the process.
It all went okay, but it was a bit... unnerving. Just to have someone going through your things, to be questioned for the books that you are reading, to be asked whether you spent a lot of time in Palestine. And this is what I, as a foreign citizen, was faced with. I have heard that it is much more difficult for Palestinians (those Palestinians who are allowed to use the airport, that is. Many must travel through Jordan).
The rest of security was fairly normal (metal detector scans, etc.), just a little more in-depth and strict when compared with airports in Canada. I found myself wondering if all of these extra security measures were necessary... Fear can be a powerful force.
The flights home were uneventful - just long. We had some time at Heathrow for a delicious noodle lunch and some time to purchase British treats like McVitie's digestive cookies (sorry, biscuits) with caramel (yum!). Janelle abandoned me at the Toronto airport while I waited for my flight home to Ottawa.
I had, up until this point in my trip, avoided any Facebook or email activity that could have raised suspicions at Ben Gurion Airport (we had been told that, if you raise enough flags, they might ask to see your social media accounts), so my journal at this point records: "Am enjoying friending pro-peace friends and orgs on Facebook while I'm waiting for the plane to board. Free speech is a glorious thing."
I'll post again soon about some of my overall reflections about the trip, but this brings the actual travelogue part of my blog to a close. And I did it before Christmas! Before Advent, even! Woot. Thanks for sticking with me, friends.
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