And then the hilarity began. The kid with the big gun said, "You know it's dangerous there?" Brad and I looked at him incredulously. He continued, "They throw stones." At this we couldn't help ourselves. We just looked at each other in exasperation and could do nothing but laugh a painful laugh. And then he waved us through.
This is a common and intentional misconception. I have never felt I was in any danger whatsoever here in Palestine. Walking home alone late at night, visiting refugee camps, visiting strongholds of Hamas support. I do hope that more people who visit Israel, like the Rabbi who joined us on our visit to Bethlehem and Hebron, will include visits to Palestine in their itinerary.
Americans in particular will find their welcome in Palestine to be very interesting. You will run into many fellow American-Palestinians and nearly everyone will tell you that they have a relative in the States. So many Palestinians are American citizens or have family members who are. They will say, "Oh, I'm from Arizona. My brother is living there still. He owns a restaurant called 'American Kitchen'", like the guy running the taxi stand in Jenin. Or, "I lived in South Carolina for twelve years. My kids are all US citizens. Maybe I'll get citizenship through them in the future", like the man who owns a grocery store by my office.
