I've never travelled in Israel, but have heard all about their serious outlook on airline security (with an equivalent track record of success). I'm interested to hear other travelers accounts of what the screening process was like there.

I somehow doubt they have a private security guard who sings instructions to the line, followed by the TSA guy who makes fun of your hometown NFL affiliation at the boarding pass checkpoint (both of whom I encountered the other morning at PHX-US Air A Concourse).

If possible, please share your stories of the Israeli system here.

It wasn't too terribly bad, just took extra time. I was asked about my travel in the country, asked to produce hotel receipts, what my occupation was, the companies I was doing work with, etc.... I'm sure it isn't as bad for tour/vacation groups. Basically they could probably care less about the answers, but were looking more closely at how you answered them, as in profiling. Thats what they are known for. I think I arrived at the airport about three hours before the flight. It doesn't matter what carrier you are using.

Plus a good, solid search of all baggage.

When I left TLV it took two hours and three teams of two inquisitors to get my boarding pass. Single woman, traveling alone, in the software business.

Some of the questions:

"How long were you in Paris on the way here?" About 10 minutes. I got lost in CDG (first time transiting CDG) and exited through passport control, to turn right back around and re-inter for my connecting flight.

"Why did you fly through Paris coming here, but are leaving through Frankfurt?" That routing was the cheapest ticket my company could buy me.

"It appears that what you did here was rather technical. Why did your company send you, and not someone more technical?" That was the one that got me. I looked behind me like she was talking to someone else, looked back at her, and answered "I am more technical."

at least the TSA is an equal oppurtunity harasser. for israel,

jews=low risk, whites= medium, arabs=high risk.

And the count down to close this thread starts....now

its ok to b*tch and whine about airport security in the US but not in israel?

Which group poses the greatest risk of terrorism against Israel?

Is there something specific you're really anxious to know? There are multitudes of threads on security at TLV. What are you really looking to find out?

If you tell us who's traveling, what for, and where, we might be able to comment on what kind of treatment you're likely to encounter. And no, I'm not asking if you're Jewish.

I was with a tour group (12 people) last month and flew out of TLV on KL. The group leader and one other member got questioned. Their interviews took roughly 10-15 minutes, I guess. They kept the rest of us in line, but then we each had a short (about 30-45 seconds) "interview" concerning the group, how we belonged to the group, and about our carry-ons. I'm positive they were just verifying the answers matched.

Then all your checked luggage gets put through an xray machine where it is scanned from different angles. After it is scanned, you either get sent directly to the airline check-in desk or get sent to another station to explain anything suspicious seen from the xray images.

Then after check-in, your next stop is the WTMD. Shoes stayed on. Laptops came out. I didn't alarm so I didn't stick around to see what happens when someone does.

Once past the WTMD, it was a long walk to the gates, but there was nothing else security-wise to worry about. No gate searches at all.

I've been all over Israel. Some cool places. Tel Aviv has a nice airport.

Israel is a Socialistic state of only 6 million people. America is a slightly less Socialistic state of 300 million people. The current government of Israel is an inevitably unsustainable arrangement propped up by allied governments. It's a very young government (historically speaking) that is facing a demographic time bomb (both from the birth rates of its immediate neighbors as well as from libertarian-trending, more free market oriented younger generations living under the states allied to it).

Israel isn't America. Nor should you want it to be (unless you also want to pay 60% of your income to the government as well). You don't want what it takes for US airports to be like Israel's airports... nor is what Israel's government does necessary for US airports to be like that.

Its government.

My beef with TSA is that it is not geared toward actual security, as is the aviation security apparatus in Israel. If TSA were more efficient, concentrating on actual security instead of Kabuki security, a/k/a dog and pony show, I think many of us would be more tolerant of its procedures. But the shoes off, toiletries in freedom bags, etc., demonstrate a lack of imagination in protecting against terrorist threats.

You might be. I wouldn't be. (And I've been through Tel Aviv and see little difference ultimately... especially when considering how much greater most US airport traffic is than TLV airport traffic.)

The government isn't necessary for airport security. What it does in order to handle airport security makes everyone worse off. In Israel, just as in the US.

Political? Not really. Read it again. Fwiw, I'm not anti-Israel... just anti-state... everywhere. Totally apolitical beyond that.

All I mean by my post is that what Israel's government does in order to do what you see it do at its airports is completely unsustainable. To applaud its airport security and wish what it has upon the US completely misses the bigger picture and is to naively wish upon Americans a really bad, also unsustainable situation (such as what we have with the TSA).

Folks,

Political discussions are fine in OMNI, and that's where this thread will be moved if the discussion doesn't return to the topic of airport security in Israel.

Thank you.

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essxjay
TS/S moderator