This is just a short story of how we see our own policeman here in Israel. All over the world the Police are the most obvious symbol of govt authority and if not respected at least feared. Its a little different here in Israel, perhaps because many of us have been that symbol of authority while in the army. I see them as people doing their job and less the symbol.
At any rate, we were returning last night from dinner at my mothers and rounding a curve we had two policemen waving us to stop before their car. I was traveling too fast to stop before their car, so I slowed, passed their parked police car and stopped afterward.
They approached us from the passenger side, where my wife opened the window and after a few pleasantries, and even before we knew why they waved us to stop, my wife proceed to scold them on the positioning of their “ambush.” She told them that not only couldn’t we stop before their car, if we had tried we might have hit one of them, and it would be safer if they found a better place…..(they looked like the age of our own kids – late 20’s).
Since they were just checking random cars, we were soon on our way. Just an interesting contrast from what I remember of the police in the States where I grew up.