Reply #6: Suspicion [View All]

[Gimel]

One reason this was posted was to relate to the situation In Israel, which is a much smaller land area and population than the US, with a greater percentage of Moslem citizens, and a much higher frequency of attacks. That produces a pressure cooker. Everyone gets searched, their bags searched and a detection instrument waved over their persons several times a day, if they do any shopping or stop in at a bank or post office on the way home.

In the past three years, this vigilance has increased significantly. Buses have always been checked for unsecured bags or objects. Anyone looking slightly different might be approached or selected to be searched more thoroughly. El Al has done this throughout it's operating history. My parent flew on El Al 11 years ago, and were quite put out by the amount of questioning they had to go through. Anyone who is a first time tourist is questioned regarding the purpose of their visit.

Anyone who looks or acts at all unusual will be scrutinized. That's the procedure. An Arab traveling on a one-way ticket to Israel, with no prior contacts would of course be singled out, and probably followed, if even allowed to travel on El Al.

Racism or reasonable caution?