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Israeli profiling is far more sophisticated than "blatant racial profiling" as the above commenter baselessly claims. For one thing, many Jews in Israel are of

Israeli profiling is far more sophisticated than "blatant racial profiling" as the above commenter baselessly claims. For one thing, many Jews in Israel are of Middle Eastern origin and appear identical to Muslim Arabs. The Israelis use several layers of profiling: a preliminary sweep as you are checking in, which assigns you a particular "risk level" based on your country of origin, profession, behavior, and other details (probably if you're wearing Muslim attire, that's taken into account as well). You then have to undergo several more levels of scrutiny from very well educated, highly intelligent and intensely trained specialists. They can and will frisk, pat down, and strip search if needed. They can open all of your luggage and check every inch of it if they're suspicious. Or they can wave you through if they're satisfied of your innocence. Here's one journalist's impression of the Israeli system: http://www.businessinsider.com/israels-ben-gurion-airport-security-uses-secret-sticker-system-2015-6 http://www.businessinsider.com/israels-ben-gurion-airport-se... For the Americans to adopt the Israeli system would mean recruiting some very sharp cookies, training them very well and compensating them commensurately. The U.S. government's track record of such achievements is not that great, unfortunately. Certain groups like the Navy SEALs, certainly, but to hire, say, 100,000 such people to operate the 5,000+ airports in the U.S. is dauntingly beyond reasonable contemplation. EDIT: also worth mentioning that Israel is 20% Muslim. They wouldn't just "not let in" Muslims; on the contrary, they have to accommodate many different ethnicities and religions every day. It's an extremely diverse country.

ivraatiems 10y ago
Your own article contradicts your suggestion that my claim is "baseless." > As Lia Tarachansky wrote back in 2010 for Mondoweiss, while a one rating "is awesome," a six indicates that "you're f-----." It appears to be reserved for Palestinians, Muslims, and hostile internationals. Palestinians and Muslims? That's ethnic and religious profiling, and together I think you could call it racial as well. And yes, Israeli Arabs are citizens of Israel with allegedly the same level of rights and responsibilities as any other, but they too face significant systemic discrimination (although not as far as leaving/entering the country is concerned, as far as I know). But your main point - that the Israeli system is complex and intelligent - is true. It IS a complex, thought-out, professional system. It does work better than that of the US. That doesn't mean it is suited for the United States, or that it doesn't involve discrimination of a kind that would be illegal in the US. I do not begrudge Israel its system. I believe it is necessary for the country's safety, though I don't like it very much. I just don't think it can or should work here.
- blisterpeanuts 10y ago
  You don't "like" the fact that Israel's airport security works? And is the best in the world? Sucks to be you. I'd rather live in a safe world, than in a politically correct one. And guess what. I'll bet 3,000 people who died on 9/11 would agree with me. Those guys were tagged by Mossad and German intelligence, yet the U.S. agencies all but ignored them. Maybe they were concerned about singling out Arabs, maybe they didn't want to offend the Saudis. Regardless, all those people died anyway. And I posit that we're not one bit safer today except for one difference: the passengers will never allow another such hijacking.
  - ivraatiems 10y ago
    Seriously? Invoking 9/11? As though Israeli airport security has anything at all to do with American intelligence failures? Don't cheapen people's deaths by using them for your political points. I don't like that we live in a world where it saves lives to do something that involves judging people by the color of their skin or their religion. I can not like that, and also accept that it happens and works. The world is not black and white; no amount of paranoia or denigration of political correctness on your part will change that. It is okay to say "this is not something we're proud of" and also "this is something that is necessary." Not every action a nation takes need be 100% laudable, even if the goals are. But it doesn't seem like you can accept that, and you're contorting my words past any point of recognition, so I think we're done here.
    - blisterpeanuts 10y ago
      All I'm saying is, if the U.S. employed a competent system such as Israel's, maybe just maybe the 9/11 attacks would not have succeed because those guys would have generated some suspicion. Al Qaeda was already active prior to 9/11 and had attacked several U.S. targets e.g. the U.S.S. Cole, the embassy in Africa, etc. Furthermore, the U.S. had even received warnings from Israeli intelligence and, as I recall, German as well, about a possible plane-based terror attack in the works. Mossad is said to have been tracking some of the 9/11 hijackers in the U.S. For a more recent example of ignoring the evidence, see the Boston Marathon bombing, in which the Russians actually phoned to warn us about the Chechnyan brothers. The intel was there, but our system was--and is--so broken as to be useless. Close your mind, or open it; it's your choice. The Israelis have survived this long by being pragmatic. The Americans, not so much; we muddle through despite ourselves, not because of any particularly brilliant management of our borders and transport systems.

ivraatiems 10y ago

Your own article contradicts your suggestion that my claim is "baseless." > As Lia Tarachansky wrote back in 2010 for Mondoweiss, while a one rating "is awesome," a six indicates that "you're f-----." It appears to be reserved for Palestinians, Muslims, and hostile internationals. Palestinians and Muslims? That's ethnic and religious profiling, and together I think you could call it racial as well. And yes, Israeli Arabs are citizens of Israel with allegedly the same level of rights and responsibilities as any other, but they too face significant systemic discrimination (although not as far as leaving/entering the country is concerned, as far as I know). But your main point - that the Israeli system is complex and intelligent - is true. It IS a complex, thought-out, professional system. It does work better than that of the US. That doesn't mean it is suited for the United States, or that it doesn't involve discrimination of a kind that would be illegal in the US. I do not begrudge Israel its system. I believe it is necessary for the country's safety, though I don't like it very much. I just don't think it can or should work here.

blisterpeanuts 10y ago
You don't "like" the fact that Israel's airport security works? And is the best in the world? Sucks to be you. I'd rather live in a safe world, than in a politically correct one. And guess what. I'll bet 3,000 people who died on 9/11 would agree with me. Those guys were tagged by Mossad and German intelligence, yet the U.S. agencies all but ignored them. Maybe they were concerned about singling out Arabs, maybe they didn't want to offend the Saudis. Regardless, all those people died anyway. And I posit that we're not one bit safer today except for one difference: the passengers will never allow another such hijacking.
- ivraatiems 10y ago
  Seriously? Invoking 9/11? As though Israeli airport security has anything at all to do with American intelligence failures? Don't cheapen people's deaths by using them for your political points. I don't like that we live in a world where it saves lives to do something that involves judging people by the color of their skin or their religion. I can not like that, and also accept that it happens and works. The world is not black and white; no amount of paranoia or denigration of political correctness on your part will change that. It is okay to say "this is not something we're proud of" and also "this is something that is necessary." Not every action a nation takes need be 100% laudable, even if the goals are. But it doesn't seem like you can accept that, and you're contorting my words past any point of recognition, so I think we're done here.
  - blisterpeanuts 10y ago
    All I'm saying is, if the U.S. employed a competent system such as Israel's, maybe just maybe the 9/11 attacks would not have succeed because those guys would have generated some suspicion. Al Qaeda was already active prior to 9/11 and had attacked several U.S. targets e.g. the U.S.S. Cole, the embassy in Africa, etc. Furthermore, the U.S. had even received warnings from Israeli intelligence and, as I recall, German as well, about a possible plane-based terror attack in the works. Mossad is said to have been tracking some of the 9/11 hijackers in the U.S. For a more recent example of ignoring the evidence, see the Boston Marathon bombing, in which the Russians actually phoned to warn us about the Chechnyan brothers. The intel was there, but our system was--and is--so broken as to be useless. Close your mind, or open it; it's your choice. The Israelis have survived this long by being pragmatic. The Americans, not so much; we muddle through despite ourselves, not because of any particularly brilliant management of our borders and transport systems.