Advertisement
Published: April 24th 2013
Edit Blog Post
Hotel Kaplan
My hotel is on Jaffa Street, just a short walk from the Old City. I had heard many stories about the added security screening people face when going to Israel. El Al’s pre-flight security checks are legendary, and I had read horror stories about getting though (or not getting through) Israeli Immigration. There is good reason for these precautions, and I certainly understand the Israeli’s caution.
I wasn’t particularly concerned. My point of departure was a small regional airport in California, where getting through security took all of three minutes. I wasn’t flying El Al, I am a near-sighted, middle-aged, reasonably pleasant woman with a US passport, and I am registered with the US Global Entry and Trusted Traveler programs.
I connected in Newark to my flight to Tel Aviv. Even though I had already gone through security at my departure airport, I had to go through security again in order to get in line to go through an additional passport verification before I could go to the gate for my flight to Tel Aviv.
The flight was uneventful, though when we entered Israeli air space, the Israeli Defense Force required that all passengers be seated with their seatbelts fastened. I don’t know if this is something new or standard procedure, but
morning walk
Ultra-Orthodox men I had never run into this requirement before.
Once on the ground, I got in line for Immigration, and – as usual – got in the wrong line. I noticed the Immigration officer for my line was very stern and taking much longer than the other officers with each passenger, and I resigned myself to a thorough questioning.
The questions were a mix of the common and the strange. “Where are you staying?” Why are you visiting Israel?” “How do you plan on moving around the country?” “What do you plan to do here?” I must have passed, because the officer waved me through and even gave me a whisper of a smile.
There are some Islamic countries that will not admit you if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, and I had debated whether I should ask to have them stamp a separate piece of paper. I wasn’t sure what countries I was going to visit in the future, but I also only had two years left before I had to get a new passport. I decided it didn’t matter. Turned out it really didn’t matter, because I was given an entry ticket taken from a scan of my passport, no stamps involved.
I was headed to Jerusalem from Ben Gurion Airport, about 60 kilometres away. I took a sherut, or shared taxi, which cost NIS 62 (US$ 17) and took about an hour. The downside to a sherut is that you must wait until all ten seats in the minibus are filled, and it takes a little longer. The upside is that it is much less expensive than the NIS 300 a regular taxi would cost, and you get a little mini tour as the sherut drops off passengers along the way.
I arrived in Jerusalem about 30 hours after I left home in California. I was tired but happy. I have a new place to explore; what more could I ask for?
Advertisement
Tot: 0.298s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 35; qc: 124; dbt: 0.1561s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
Nikki Alexander
non-member comment
HI Karen, Glad you made it safe and sound. I am now ensconced in the RV, trying to put away stuff I should have give away! Weather has been great, but I know it will soon change, so hope to be long gone. As a fellow travel, I am wondering what kind of medical coverage you have while overseas. It is something I am thinking about, but don\'t have a clue as to where to look. Thanks PS: How about some \"food\" pics!