Welcome to the Bethlehem Star Hotel by Ben Granby

Welcome to the Bethlehem Star Hotel:
by Ben Granby
2006
ISBN: 1-1891053-51-5
$9.71 (25% off the cover price of $12.95) + postage
black & white photos

Excerpt from
Welcome to the Bethlehem Star Hotel
by Ben Granby

...The convoy was divided among Americans and Britons. The American vehicles were all Chevrolet SUVs, plated in bulletproofing, and the British drove Landrovers. Once they parked, US Embassy agents emerged. Body armor and olive drab Kevlar helmets adorned their uniform of white t-shirts and blue jeans. They stepped through the glass foyer sporting AR-15 carbines. "Americans! Line up over there!" one bellowed. Another with a clipboard stepped though our crowd and told us to show our passports. "One bag each -- carry-on size only!" He told Terra that her backpack was too large. She stood flabbergasted, especially as it had been allowed as a carry-on at the airport just before. I old her to go to the back of the line and see if he didn't notice it again. He didn't.

I managed to be second in line for passport verification and approval to head outside. The agents, really resembling soldiers for all that mattered, seemed nervous -- or at least overly cautious. "Hurry up! Get in the trucks!" I was rushed. Such hurriedness might have been warranted the day before, but surely not now. Only an hour before, we all casually stood around in front of the hotel. Indeed, the only threat we ever perceived was from Israeli snipers -- certainly not from any Palestinians. Besides, I wasn't about to climb into any black SUV until I was sure Terra made it out too.

Once she found where I was, we climbed in, situating ourselves in the back row of lush leather seats. Diplomatic evacuation in style. Then followed two ISM members, one a Jewish New York resident and the other, an American of Arabic descent from Philadelphia. All in all, the whole operation should have been quick. We only had to wait for everyone leaving to have their passports checked, and to climb into the vehicles of their respective nationality. But the overly cautious behavior of the American agents held us back. I told the others that this had become too surreal, like some cheesy Tom Clancy movie.

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