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AND the last thing they want is for you to visit the west bank or East Jerusalem and see how much they oppress the Palestinias and report it back to your friends at home(like I have!)
Well there you go. Sounds like the security was doing a good job because they had you pegged exactly right. Really, I don't understand why people get all upset about being detained by security when they self-admit that there is a very good reason. Rolls eyes.
It's travel related in the sense that people need to understand what is likely to detain them at the border and what isn't.
Israeli border security knows what it is looking for. If you are detained, there's probably a reason. That doesn't mean that you're a terrorist or anything; it just means that there's something that triggered their need to question you more thoroughly. If you're okay, then it's nothing to worry about, just a delay and you'll be allowed in.
But people come on this board all the time and try to warn other people not to travel to Israel because it's such a hassle to get in, when in fact, it was a hassle for them because of a very good reason, i.e. it turns out they're involved with anti-Israel organisations or politics or whatever. From the point of view of the average budget traveler, it's helpful to know that this is unlikely to happen to them, because the people posting these experiences aren't typical of regular travelers without agendas.
Why did you feel you had to defend yourself?
Hey! When I came to Israel from Jordan in 2000 with a Syrian STAMP in my passport they just waved me through! : )
Hoping for the same again this time.
Edited by: Jameswimbledon
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I thought this was a travel forum
It is. Your post was not travel related. Please stay on topic.
We are in Jerusalem right now and it seems fine. We walked all over the old city today - including the muslim quarter. There is a lot of military presence in the muslim and jewish quarter. The Armenian quarter was quiet and a ton of tourists at the chruch.
The streets are relatively empty for such an important and famous place. Some of the shopkeepers said that they hardly had any traffic and made a sale of 40-50 shekels.
hth.