In the most lovely British accent that would make any announcement sound pleasant, the captain started the usual “we’ve begun our descent” message…but it was 45 mins before landing. “Due to Israeli air traffic security measures, everyone must now fasten seat belts and stay seated for the remainder of flight. Restrooms will be shut down. Thank you for your cooperation.”

It’s been a very long adventure to get from SFO to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv (same airport as for Jerusalem – had to look that up) but we are excited to be here! It’s after midnight local time, and the airport is buzzing with activity. We are met – at the gate! – by our “immigration expediter” who was charming and friendly and super helpful. Alex told us he had been a supervisor with Israel immigration so knew the ropes, and more importantly, the people working there. It’s a tricky entry – a plethora of complex forms online ahead of time, and then a couple un-attended kiosks to scan passports and take pictures and get little tickets and chits, the use of which is still not entirely clear. In the midnight sea of sleepy people at immigration snaking through the ropes and stantions, Alex took us through the crowd and had us wait off to the side. 

It was a mystery what he was doing until he found the person he was looking for, to whom we presented ourselves in the middle of the immigration hall (not at a window where others were lined up). The un-uniformed man asked us a few questions, looked at our passports, then nodded at Alex we were good to go. No stamp in the passport…nothing that felt “official”…which seemed odd but after all the scanning they have plenty of entry records on us. We then had to wave one of the little chits to a random woman sitting near some security gates, and then scan the other ticket for another picture and voila! We were in Israel. 

During all of this, I received a dreaded email from British Air that my luggage had been left behind in London (grrrr….) and to proceed to the lost luggage counter to complete necessary paperwork. Two days later as I finish this, and still, no luggage. Beyond frustrated I am, but trying not to let it get in the way of this incredible adventure.

Shalom.