The lovliest new military checkpoint you ever did see

We went to a brand-new border crossing between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the closest most of us got to Bethlehem. There, the friendly soldier explained how nice it was for the Palestinians that they could have their documents examined in convenient new surroundings, much nicer than in the bad old days of waiting under the hot sun. He talked about how thousands of entry permits were issued each year, and how all the "good" Palestinian had to do was ask, to get one. He had no idea, of course, what percentage of permits were denied, but assured us that if a permit were to be denied, the Palestinian in question must be a terrorist, or "some kind of troublemaker." We admired the lovely checkpoint, and the friendly officer, and the friendly young guy with another machine gun who was at his side throughout our visit (no "troublemaking" from us, no sir), and mostly went on our way. The young tough guy even handed out "Israel Loves You" tourism stickers for our lapels. Three of our group, Roman Catholic clerics, walked into Bethlehem, against the advice of our tourguide, intending to pray at the Church of the Nativity--strictly at their own risk. This, they subsequently did, after which they rejoined us by taxi.

Seriously, the guys with guns have (opinion--mine, not the ADL's or anyone elses) an impossible job. They're trying to make the best of a situation where life for the Israelis is constantly threatened by terrorist attacks, and life for the Palestinians is so bad that some of them hate Israel more than they love their own lives. The officer and his fresh-faced, yet tough young friend seemed to be genuinely nice guys. The ironic "PEACE BE WITH YOU" sign on the checkpoint's wall was sad, even pathetic. The checkpoint probably is an improvement over whatever it replaced. But, I really doubt that the walls and guns will bring security.