Wadi Nar Checkpoint

When I was on my Placement visit in Jerusalem I was fortunate to be able to go along with other EA’s in their daily work.   Gernot, an EA from Germany,  took me on a tour of the Old City.  As a member of the Jerusalem team he is quite familiar with the area as we wound our way in and out of old streets and tunnels. 

 We ended up on the rooftop of a church in the old city where there was a beautiful panoramic view of all the places where we had walked and a clear view of the Dome of Rock.  He shared his insights and observations with me as we walked along.

In the afternoon we traveled to a checkpoint in a small village near East Jerusalem.  This is a checkpoint used by many Palestinians as they are leaving Jerusalem for the week-end or as they are coming in for the week-end.  The EA’s had been regularly monitoring this checkpoint on other days of the week but it was suggested they also come on a Thursday afternoon.  They had been told of problems at the checkpoint that some of the students from the University encountered at the checkpoint on their way home to nearby villages. 

It takes a long time to get to the Wadi Nar checkpoint because of the way the highway has been chopped up.  After a bus and a taxi ride we reached the checkpoint in time to monitor the vehicles going in and out of Jerusalem.  This was a new experience for me since I have mainly monitored agriculture gates and pedestrian checkpoints.  What also was new was the method used to search questionable vehicles.  Dogs are also used by the Israeli Military in their searches of vehicles.  Some college students in buses and vans had to undergo individual checks which meant that they had to get out of their vehicles.  Whenever there was that kind of search the traffic backed up behind as no one was allowed to pass until each individual search was over. 

It was cold and I readily accepted the offer to wear Gernot’s wool hat.    It was a little big for my head but it sure felt good to have it on while we were standing out there.  After the monitoring was over it was also good to head back to the EA flat and enjoy the meal Gernot prepared for us.  In real life Gernot is a therapist but I must say that he is also an excellent chef!!

Susanne