Jaywalking In Jerusalem

The bus stopped to let passengers off and on, blocking the entire street so that no other vehicle could get past it. Seeing my chance, I quickly dashed over to the traffic island, crossing against the light. I was surprised to see that my wife did not follow me, so as soon as I was safely across, I flapped my arms at her and made chicken squawking noises. Then I noticed the police officer, who ordered me to stay put. Furious, he walked up to me and in a mix of Hebrew and English demanded my identification. I produced a passport, and he called it in to HQ, went through it to see if I had a current visa, and examined my appointment sheet from the Ministry of the Interior, at which I plan to pursue working and/or citizenship papers. Satisfied with my explanation, he asked me if I have any criminal record in the US. I assured him that I did not. He then wanted to know if American police would allow me to so boldly flaunt the jaywalking laws. Unintimidated, I told him that they generally don't care, so long as you are not endangering yourself or others, which in this case, I argued, I was not. He handed my passport back to me, telling me that this is the last time he will tolerate such behavior, and that next time I'd be fined 400 shekels (about 110 USD).

I felt like Beaver Cleaver as my wife lectured me on our way to our next appointment. Let this be a lesson to me, young (NOT!) man: Don't jaywalk near the central bus station or other heavily policed areas. So from now on, I make a point of never crossing where there are both traffic lights and police officers. They took me out of New York City, but they can't take New York City out of me. I cross when it makes sense to cross, not when some automated light show tells me to. And since the police here take traffic lights seriously, I simply avoid them.