I find that hard to believe because there is no such special check in area in TLV for flights to the US, nor is there a special check in area in ATL or JFK for flights to Israel.

In Israel, right before boarding for the US, you are asked if you have any liquids. That is the only extra step and it is handled by the airline, not by Israel.

In the US, you are given a second TSA-type screening right before boarding an Israeli-bound flight, but that is handled by the airline (or, at least, a private security company) but not by the US government.

(To be clear, in both of the above situations, I am speaking only from experience on Delta. I have not flown El Al or any other airline to/from TLV-USA.)

Why would either Israel or the US require check-in at a special area but then make no additional security arrangements?