Today started as most days normally do. Wake up. 15 minute walk to class. 5 hours of Hebrew. Usual morale dip as I realize how much Hebrew I don't know. Nothing out of the ordinary. I came back to my apartment after class, ate a little bit then headed downtown with one of my roommates, Emily, to spend the day studying and catching up. It was a great afternoon. Super productive and I loved being downtown in the thick of bustling Jerusalem. But after 5ish hours, enough was enough so we headed back home on the bus.

About 4 seconds into the ride home, the bus stopped. We looked up to see that a police van was blocking our way down Jaffa Street, one of the busiest in all of Jerusalem. A crowd had formed around the police van and within a few minutes, everyone in the bus was on the sidewalk (including the driver: freshly purchased iced coffee in hand) figuring out what was going on. Police vans and security guards were preventing anyone from passing through this section of Jaffa St.  Emily and I emerged from our bus in time to see a robot-thing backing out of the police van to head down the blocked of portion of the street. The robot approached a blue cloth mass on the sidewalk and eventually we put the pieces together to figure out what was going on.

Three weeks ago, during our orientation to school/life here in Jerusalem, we were taught the important Hebrew phrase for "suspicious bag." We were given very clear instructions to notify whoever possible if we ever see a bag or backpack left anywhere.  The unfortunate reality of this country is that there was a time, not too long ago, where explosions in busy stores and popular streets were all but rare. This country was deemed a dangerous place for any tourist for who knew what would be hit next.

Fast forward back to today and you may have a better understanding of the seriousness of what we were witnessing. It was a strange feeling to watch this robot slowly glide towards this bag, zip open the top, shake it, turn it upside down, empty its contents, search for explosives, then deem it harmless. Only then did any of the police officers enter the street to grab the bag, search through it themselves, then bring it to their van. Within a few minutes, the robot was parked on the sidewalk, the police vans had moved out of the way, and pedestrians flooded the sidewalks, hurrying to the bus stops that they were blocked from for nearly half an hour.

Today was the first time I witnessed Israel taking care of Israel. The police officers knew exactly what to do. Nobody on the sidewalk was complaining. Nobody was panicking. Everything was under control in a time of potential danger. I don't know if I have ever been as impressed with Israel and Israelis as I was today. There are so many things, big and small, that amaze me about this country and, as cheesy as it, I have one more to add to the list.

All in all, today was a good day.

Miriam is a student at the Rotheberg International School of Hebrew University.  She is currently in Ulpan and will be staying in Israel for one semester. 

For information on MAP and MAP events, please contact Avi Steinberg or Erin Kopelow at masamap@masaisrael.org 

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