Bethlehem CP, Palestinian and Israeli side - 3rd Friday of Ramadan

07:00-11:00

From the balcony of my apartment you can see Hebron Road where the buses pass on their way to the mosque. Already at six in the morning there were more buses than at the same time last week or the week before. Access to the checkpoint at Rosemarin junction was blocked. Stealthily, I managed to take advantage of the moment when the Border Police soldiers were busy arguing with another driver and slipped into our usual parking spot. From there it was an additional ten-minute walk to the checkpoint. No one else was walking; only buses passed by. I crossed to the Palestinian side without any difficulty - perhaps the surprising appearance “out of nowhere” of an older Israeli woman did the job. Nor were there photographers or journalists today; also I was the only observer. The "action" is at Nablus Gate; here they “only’ go to worship.

The number of worshipers increased as time went by. Three inspection stations were installed for people coming from Bethlehem. Those inspecting sat in a booth protected by awnings and through a narrow slit checked the identity cards of those crossing. Each ID was checked twice - once by the women in the inspection booths and then again by the DCO officer. Many soldiers were mostly busy doing nothing or pushing those refused entry back to Bethlehem. The words that were heard most often were "closure" and "denied." Many people were turned back but unlike in previous weeks, this time their ID cards were confiscated. Every hour, all the confiscated ID’s were taken to the far side (the Bethlehem side) of the checkpoint and returned to their owners. Seeing the fear in the faces of the people whose ID’s were taken was a unsettling experience. How do you live without one when your fate hinges on having an identity card? There is no need for physical violence; bureaucratic violence "does the job" just as well. By the time I left, about 10,000 worshipers had crossed.

I’m not one of the worshippers, but if I had wished to pray I would have dressed elegantly and proudly strode to the nearest synagogue. That’s what freedom of worship looks like. What is being done at the Bethlehem checkpoint is a black mark on the most basic of human rights - and a great shame for all of us.

The person who passes inspection proceeds along a long path to the wall and from there along a winding path to the entrance to the compound itself. Since there is only one gate open the crowding was unbearable and I decided to take advantage of my privilege and go through the "VIP" entrance. The Border Police tried to prevent me from doing so. After a phone call to Nathaniel they allowed me to cross – but not without a juicy curse, of course. That's how it is! I was and remained a leftist traitor.

On the Israeli side there was a rapid influx of worshippers rushing to take a seat on the buses heading to the mosque. Men and women separately. The buses left one after another and the Palestinian stewards were in full control of the process. Four tourists heading toward Bethlehem approached me to find out how to get through - and after a few moments realized that I was apparently someone "special" and asked why I was there. I asked them to tell people at home about "freedom of worship" and that there are people here for whom the rights of others are important. I left in sorrow, my head bowed, and thought that Gideon Levy was right when he wrote in Ha’aretz on April 21 that "we are all Homesh".