December 14, 2000

Negotiating our way across these days is interesting business. We got a ride from our Presbyterian friend to the Afule checkpoint. He was not allowed to drive across, so we walked across and waiting for our friends from Zababdeh to pick us up. We watched as a Palestinian taxi emptied itself of building materials, which were handed across the checkpoint to Arab Israelis on the other side. Five minutes later a settler vehicle with furniture tied to the roof was waved through. You can't make this stuff up!

Road blocks are par for the course these days.

Driving back to Zababdeh, we were told the way into Jenin was "too dangerous" by Israeli soldiers. People who work in Jenin were forced to walk home to their villages, as all of the roads have been closed off by dirt and large stones. All of this as the press talks a lot about Israel opening the borders to Palestinian workers.

We returned home to see our friends and to engage in what has become a regular ritual trading stories of how the heck we got in and out, showing slides and video of what's happening in the rest of the world.