Profiling, when done correctly, is a much more sophisticated process than simply looking at someone's skin color or listening to his accent.

In Israel, where it has become an art at the airport, every single person is profiled. It doesn't mean that everyone is given the same checks, it means that every person is evaluated to see if further checking is advisable.

Outward appearance plays a part. Only somebody who is purposely blind would deny that some very obvious factors can play a role in determining who is more apt to present a danger. A 24-year-old Palestinian man is, statistically, much more likely to attempt hijacking an El Al plane than is a 70-year-old grandmother from a kibbutz in the Negev.

But that grandmother does not skip her way onto the plane nor does the Palestinian man necessarily face an intrusive search. It only means that El Al Security will start the profiling process more suspicious of one than the other.

In what appears to be a simple friendly chat the Security people size up the passenger. If there is something about the way he carries himself or answers questions (and often the questions themselves are meaningless) he gets further questioning. If he tells a story which seems very far out of the usual, they will keep asking questions until they are satisfied that he is not lying. If they feel he may well be lying then, and only then, will he be sent for a physical search.

I've told this story before on this forum, but it is worth repetition because it bears out what I am saying:

Several years ago, a friend of mine -- a Black woman who is a LTC in the American Air Force -- decided to visit me. She was stationed in Napoli and took an El Al flight from Rome.

American Blacks are not high on the list of people Israel profiles. Nor are middle-aged women. Had she simply been a secretary from New York City coming here for a religious pilgrimage she probably would have passed through Security with no problems.

The fact, however, that this Black woman claimed to be an LTC in the Air Force, and was flying to Israel from Rome to visit a friend here, immediately raised some eyebrows. They asked her more questions and she presented them with NATO Intelligence credentials. You might think that this would satisfy them but it had exactly the opposite effect. How many Black, female, American Air Force colonels with such credentials do El Al Security people in Rome ever see? She was probably the first -- and thus stood out.

They asked her for my name and telephone number and she gave it to them. They then called me to ask about her. When they finished with that, they asked me questions about myself. In the end, they were satisfied. She was not sent for a physical check (very few people ever get to that point) and was allowed to board.

Interestingly, she said that during the entire time they were very friendly and polite to her. They in no way made her feel uncomfortable or like a criminal. There was none of the TSA-type bossiness which I read so often about on this forum. They simply did their jobs efficiently and well.

(Personally, I think that part of the problem with the TSA attitude is the result of the attitude of passengers. People flying to Israel, even Americans, understand the security situation we face here and because of that react well during checks. In the States, that is not always true. It is the old "chicken and the egg" question -- are TSA screeners rude because passengers treat them rudely or is the reverse the case?)