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> I travelled to Hebron and Bethlehem last month. Crossing the checkpoint was very easy What's your ethnicity, what passport are you traveling on, and what's y

> I travelled to Hebron and Bethlehem last month. Crossing the checkpoint was very easy What's your ethnicity, what passport are you traveling on, and what's your family's religion (not your own personal religious beliefs, but your background)? Based on your username, I'm willing to bet that your situation isn't particularly applicable to the concerns OP expressed. Israeli security is no joke, and they perform a degree of profiling that is explicitly illegal in the US (and some European countries, though to a lesser degree). There's some recent pushback against this and a few recent victories in Israeli courts for Muslims and non-Muslim Arabs, but the degree of profiling that occurs legally within Israel is still way further than what most other countries practice. People who are from the US and Europe - particularly if they're white and especially if they're Jewish - generally have a good impression of Israeli security because they're rarely subjected to the most intrusive parts. People who are Muslim - especially if they're dark-skinned or Arab-looking - tend to have much worse experiences. I know this will get downvoted because it's not the experience that most HN readers will have, but it is the experience that slim expects that they'll have, as evidenced by the very question they asked.

peterwwillis 9y ago
Well, I can attest to the security at least. I almost missed flights from and to Israel twice because of their security. In one case, I took the wrong train and arrived at the airport under an hour from my flight, so they did extra screening and I barely made it. In the other, as I was boarding my flight, they refused to let me on (saying I should have known to come to security early - I was three hours early) until I went through two rounds of brief interrogation and they brought my carry on bag through security again, and broke the main zipper, and refused to pay for it. In another instance, my flight was delayed on the tarmac until several passengers (who had been sitting quietly) were forceably removed.
cat199 9y ago
but but but I thought it was a 'secular democracy'? That's what CNN always says..
- bsaul 9y ago
  secular doesn't mean security checks shouldn't take ethnicity or religion into account. i've travelled to israel twice and had complete screening twice simply because i was travelling alone and without a big luggage. And honestly i'm glad they did spend that time on me and not of the muslim family with 4 children that was travelling in the same flight. And since they saw i completely understood their concerns i ended up sympatizing with the person interrogating me, both times. the thing people in western countries don't seem to understand ( although that varies depending on the number of terrorists attack that took place on their soils) is that security is vital to israelis. They don't want to humiliate anyone, they don't like the idea of spending millions in security systems, and they'd really like not having to search bags of people everywhere all the time. But they don't have a choice, and this is not a game to them.
mark212 9y ago
I'm white and Jewish and get hassled by security going in and out of Israel, every single time. Seriously. American passport and multiple trips in and out of the country. All I can say is that the initial screening is done mostly by young women who are following very closely to some training they have and looking for how you react to questions. Most are secular and think religious Jews are only ultra-orthodox (because that's what they see day in and day out), so when I try to patiently explain that yes, I'm religious, no, I'm not orthodox, yes, I learned my Hebrew in Jerusalem at the municipal ulpan (intensive course for new immigrants), but no, I didn't take a package from anyone and packed my bags all by myself ... off to secondary screening. It's frustrating, but you just can't take it personally. They're just playing the odds as they see them and going by the percentages. Ben Gurion is a great airport once you get past security.

peterwwillis 9y ago

Well, I can attest to the security at least. I almost missed flights from and to Israel twice because of their security. In one case, I took the wrong train and arrived at the airport under an hour from my flight, so they did extra screening and I barely made it. In the other, as I was boarding my flight, they refused to let me on (saying I should have known to come to security early - I was three hours early) until I went through two rounds of brief interrogation and they brought my carry on bag through security again, and broke the main zipper, and refused to pay for it. In another instance, my flight was delayed on the tarmac until several passengers (who had been sitting quietly) were forceably removed.

cat199 9y ago

but but but I thought it was a 'secular democracy'? That's what CNN always says..

bsaul 9y ago
secular doesn't mean security checks shouldn't take ethnicity or religion into account. i've travelled to israel twice and had complete screening twice simply because i was travelling alone and without a big luggage. And honestly i'm glad they did spend that time on me and not of the muslim family with 4 children that was travelling in the same flight. And since they saw i completely understood their concerns i ended up sympatizing with the person interrogating me, both times. the thing people in western countries don't seem to understand ( although that varies depending on the number of terrorists attack that took place on their soils) is that security is vital to israelis. They don't want to humiliate anyone, they don't like the idea of spending millions in security systems, and they'd really like not having to search bags of people everywhere all the time. But they don't have a choice, and this is not a game to them.

mark212 9y ago

I'm white and Jewish and get hassled by security going in and out of Israel, every single time. Seriously. American passport and multiple trips in and out of the country. All I can say is that the initial screening is done mostly by young women who are following very closely to some training they have and looking for how you react to questions. Most are secular and think religious Jews are only ultra-orthodox (because that's what they see day in and day out), so when I try to patiently explain that yes, I'm religious, no, I'm not orthodox, yes, I learned my Hebrew in Jerusalem at the municipal ulpan (intensive course for new immigrants), but no, I didn't take a package from anyone and packed my bags all by myself ... off to secondary screening. It's frustrating, but you just can't take it personally. They're just playing the odds as they see them and going by the percentages. Ben Gurion is a great airport once you get past security.