Reply from Ya'lla Tours USAJan 16, 2019
Thank you so much for your thorough feedback. We consider all comments from our travelers seriously and make changes to our procedures when appropriate. Based on your comment about the walking in Jerusalem, we have decided to make a note of it in our itineraries, similar to that in our Petra itineraries. Jerusalem's Old City is very compact and walking distances are not a problem for the average traveler. However, it can be pretty dense with people, which makes getting from place to place slow and keeps walkers on their feet longer than the short distances might otherwise require.
Bethlehem is in the West Bank, which is a separate political entity from Israel. Border crossing procedures literally vary from day to day, depending on the security concerns of the moment. You crossed on Christmas Eve, the busiest day of the year to cross, so security was particularly tight. (How exciting, to be in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve!)
We like to use the northern border crossing into Jordan because visas are available on the spot. Jordanian visas must be obtained in advance to cross at the Allenby crossing near Jerusalem, which requires travelers to send passports to a Jordanian consulate months in advance. Also, Allenby is the only crossing where West Bank residents are allowed to cross, which makes it the busiest crossing by far, with unpredictable wait times, sometimes hours. A better plan for you would have been to cross into Jordan in the north and return to Israel at Allenby.
Congratulations for traveling light! It's far more common that our travelers have too much luggage. Apologies for the confusion upon your arrival. Our representative was in the correct place but we realize that our written instructions to you about where to meet him are not as clear as they could be. We will remedy that immediately.
Many thanks again for your thoughtful review.