I am an American Citizen who was recently discriminated against, denied entry, denied seeing my relatives, and denied visiting my country of origin, simply because of my Palestinian roots. This is my story.

After a couple of interviews at different stages of crossing the Allenby Bridge over the river Jordan, I had memorized every corner of the place. I kept myself entertained for a long time by talking to people and playing with miserably bored and tired children.

Today you can fly through the border for a mere $80, V.I.P. service they call it. A civilian Israeli with a big smile, constantly shaking hands and patting well dressed men on their backs carries out the mission of expediting your passage. V.I.P. service won’t help you if you are somehow black listed, like me for example, a Palestinian with an American passport. V.I.P. service simply erases the mandatory unnecessary wait. What a joke, and what a testimony for the reality of all that happens on this crossing. Pure harassment, unless you can afford to pay that fee.

I almost forgot my welcome of a few days ago. As you enter the building where it all happens, there is a new machine. A voice yells at you to stop. You are locked in from both ends and strong puffs of air are shot at you. I was terrified. As I was commanded by the machine to exit, I looked back and saw multiple pictures of myself looking hysteric with my hair flying around.

At that moment I understood why the soldier in front of me was looking up at the screen smiling. Is this a joke I wondered?  I can’t imagine how an old person, a child or someone with a heart condition would react to this contraption that entertained a bored soldier.

These days, you are not strip searched unless you are on some really bad list like some good people I know. The high tech equipment they use can detect everything. Strip searching is simply for harassment.

For hours I watched passports and documents trickle out of the security office. People rushing to the window with really thick glass, a female soldier with a disgusted look on her face calling your name. There were no loud speakers. People closed in on the window to hear. Often this behavior irked the soldier and she would scream at the top of her lungs in Hebrew while signaling for people to go behind the line.

The majority of soldiers working with people at the lower levels were women. When it came to the “real” interview the men showed up. I entertained myself by trying to project some theories about why that was.

Finally, a young soldier by the name of Yael came out and announced to me that it is not possible for me to cross. He was surprised when I asked him his name and was disarmed for a second or two. He said that I need to obtain a Palestinian identity card or a Tasreeh (a permit obtained by family members on the West Bank which takes weeks to be issued) to enter and exit from now on.

Such papers would not allow me in many areas in the West Bank, including Jerusalem and would make my crossing through check points hellish and improbable. It would restrict my movement, stripping me of the right to use my American citizenship, controlling where I go, subjecting me to whatever treatment they want to inflict. Not that Americans are immune to bad treatment in Palestine, especially if they make it clear that they support Palestinians.

The racism and prejudice extends beyond whatever passports you carry. If you are of Palestinian origin, you go in, but you have to experience the prison and humiliation that is the West Bank now. With me waiting endlessly, a Canadian, two British,  and four with an American passport. Except for a mother and her daughter, we were all denied entrance.

There were no reasons given. Not even an apology. All of us were of Palestinian origin. 

Israel always comes up with new, absurd, inhumane racist laws and policies. There is a law now that forbids Israelis from entering the West Bank. A friend of mine, a Palestinian who is also an Israeli citizen, cannot legally live with her Palestinian husband and kids. Their home, in Ramallah on the West Bank, is forbidden to her. Of course the rest of the family is not allowed to live in Israel since Israel’s Law of Return allows only Jews or those who convert to Judaism to acquire Israeli citizenship.

Eventually the janitors came to clean. They did a great job which initially surprised me. Then I realized that this space is shared by Israeli soldiers and it’s probably for their sake that they do all this.

I waited for a total of eight hours. I saw everyone leave. I was denied entry.

You’d think that the USA would care about its own citizens. I called the US embassy and they don’t give a damn basically. After all, when it comes to Israel, nobody else matters to the US, not even its own citizens.