I just flew out of TLV a few hours ago. I was stopped on the way into the airport (probably since I was carrying a large backpack), and questioned for about a minute. Then I went to the checkin, that interview took <2 minutes.
My luggage was not examined extensively.

After buying some CDs, I went thru the WTMD/xray section, very short lines there. Nobody shouting at passengers. They actually were smiling and helpful with pax (this at 4AM) . No shoes BS. That was it.

my roommate was visiting me in Tel Aviv over the weekend, he reported a 45 minute interview session, but his visit would have been more suspect than mine.

wrt to the profiling method, its more than simple jew/whites/muslims.

I had a very pleasant experience flying out of Tel Aviv/Ben Gurion just a couple of months ago. Althoug the interview was longer than most, the staff were unerringly friendly. There was no frisking, no shoe or jacket removal, no wanding, no interest in plastic bags and bottles, and--above all--no shouting.

As I have said before: in America, they care about the size of your shampoo bottle; In Israel, they care if you're going to blow up the plane.

The staff at Ben Gurion appeared enthusiastic and dedicated. They make it clear that their interest in protecting everyone's safety, not in "putting on a show" or intimidating anyone. As others have noted, there are no badges.

I was flying in business, so I had no waiting in lines. The economy class lines can be really long, but no worse than many other international airports.

Although one is perhaps subject to greater scrutiny flying out of Israel, the experience is far more pleasant. When I landed at JFK, I was immediately faced with a woman screaming at me about my boarding card, jacket, and shoes.

It's worth noting that the new terminal at Ben Gurion is beautiful. It's spacious, bright, and spotless.

TLV had 9.2 million passengers in 2006.

The major American airports handle 3 to 10 times the amount of passengers.

TLV's security would likely be even worse than the TSA's in most airports given the same level of traffic. Government monopoly is government monopoly. Always a stupid idea.

I used to travel to Israel once a quarter. The exit interviews are a form of psychological screening. You are asked some relatively mundane questions, several times. They want to know if your answer is the same each time. They want to see some documentation about your trip - hotel bills, meeting records, invitations, etc. to confirm you are who you say you are. If you have visited an Arab nation, and the record is in your passport, they will ask you about it. If you are traveling with someone (a business associate), they will ask you to identify that person, then they will compare notes with the other interviewer, and the process will repeat itself. (Hint: always say you are traveling alone). What is bad is when you get a trainee - the interview will take at least twice as long.

I learned to behave as a hostile witness. Answer as many questions as possible with a yes or no, and volunteer nothing. Don't give them a reason to go off on a tangent.

BTW, you won't see weapons (armed guards) inside the airport, but I guarantee you that they are there.

i dont think any of us would have imagined not being able to carry a bottle of water on an airplane or being embarassed about our private parts showing up on x-rays

I have been in and out of TLV on several ocassions. It has been my experience that they are in the business of providing security. On one ocassion my bag had my wife's initials and this triggered a 40 minute interview.

The long and the short of it was, I actually felt better when they were done and I boarded the plane. Real or imagined, I felt the other passengers and crew aboard would be good flying companions.

In the States 70% of the time I feel it is a power trip for the TSA agents, and their goal is to try and strip you of your dignity, which is against their published policy of passengers can expect to be treated with dignity.

I have read arguments about the number of passengers at Ben Gurion versus at a major US city. I can assure you they have a greater per capita in the security business than in the US, so in my book that argument doesn't hold up.

And another fundamental difference regarding terrorist activities is that in the US it is "if" or "sooner or later", but in Israel is "where today".

i would be much much much more annoyed at having wasted 40 mins of my life than having a bottle of water taken from me. over some initials! there's a million good reasons why. that is why TLV is the last airport i'll every fly through, right after LHR.

Might I suggest that you take a direct flight to TLV rather than "TLV as the last airport ... right after LHR". It would seem you are wasting more time with the intermediate stop.

I had forgotten about this thread and haven't been back posting in some time. When I asked the original question, it was directed at the professionalism of the security personnel in Israel, not a political manifesto of our system versus theirs.

My problem with the TSA is not the job they have to do (definitely a necessity), rather the manner in which they do it.

Half of them look like they last worked at Burger King, . The other may be toiling to their minimum service requirement before they can fake and injury and collect a golden-parachute government disability package.

My experience at TLV was far more reassuring than anything I live through in the FRAs, LHRs, JFKs of this world. As others in this thread have pointed out, TLV security is about security - finding the terrorist before he/she boards a flight. My guess is that they couldn't care less about liquids so long they were satisfied you (and not your shoes/jacket/laptop) were not a problem.
In some ways I found parallels in BOG, where all passengers go through a second degree (searching primarily for drugs). Again - the staff scrutinize the passenger, though the bags are also thoroughly searched, but it's done without barking (even though there are also dogs present) and the staff are genuinely pleasant and polite.

I really would like to know WHY this issue keeps coming up: comparing the policy of a single, small country, with a limited number of flights, to the entire global security system?

It's not very different than it is in slower American airports (i.e. SAV).

If TLV saw the level of traffic that JFK/LAX/LGA/ATL/etc. see, it would be the same bureaucratic, inefficient, government monopoly mess that you have in the US.

Seriously. It's retarded.

I just flew out of Tel Aviv a couple of weeks ago. The terminal was quite busy, but the staff were as pleasant as ever.

On entering the building, a security agent asked for my passport and ticket, asked where I was from and where I was going, how long I'd been in Israel, and then directed me inside.

At the actual security check, a friendly agent asked me a handful of questions, decided that I seemed pretty legit, and that was it. The entire procedure took less than 2 or 3 minutes. While she was talking to me, another agent "swabbed" my bags.

No badges, no barking.

She wished me a pleasant trip, complimented me on my Hebrew, and told me to come back soon.

The metal detector/x-ray was a little slow, but that had to do wtih a passenger in front of me. It was perhaps a 15-minute process. Shoes and jackets on, absolutely no yelling. No liquid issues. The staff do not "stare you down" as you walk through the metal detector. They just keep an eye on it from the side.

And that's it. No gate screening, no second interview. You just get right on the plane.

All brought to you by what is often referred to as the most secure airport in the world. Rav todot.

They asked you questions inside? Is that usual? When we left, a young lady kept us from entering the terminal and asked some odd questions, like whether we belonged to a "religious group", but we must have passed muster. Inside we just got our BP's and there was the usual screen for our hand luggage and then we had two hours to wait because we'd allowed too much time.

It's 'usual' to be asked questions anywhere in TLV. They have concentric circles of security that begin as you physically enter the perimeter of the airport and continue all the way to the plane.