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 th

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.