TSA critique from Israeli airport security expert

[emilyinchile]

www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-tsa-sucks-a-security-experts-perspective/

I thought this was interesting. I am not a security expert myself, so I can't speak to how right the author is, but I have always felt like the TSA is reactionary to a fault. Like guys, the shoe bombing didn't work, the terrorists are probably smart enough to move on to a new plan, so can we stop taking our shoes off now?

Pretty much every new security regulation we've gotten in the past 10+ years feels like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted in a response focused on appearances rather than like there is any kind of well thought-out plan designed to deal with realistic future threats.

[GilliC]

I'm a firm believer that most of the visible-to-travelers part of the TSA really is security theater. It makes stupid people feel safe to go through all that nonsense.

It's been how many years since 9-11, and US airports are just now reaching the point where someone on the no-fly list might have trouble getting on a plane. I'm also not a security expert either, but getting a no-fly passenger through the TSA checkpoint was practically a no-brainer for years.

Let alone all the ways to trick the full-body scanners and to use the ridiculous exceptions to carry a 2-liter onto a plane. I have to believe that there's something going on behind the scenes, because there's nothing going on in front of them!


...But on the upside, the TSA do make flying fun! I really do enjoy screwing with them!

[mcc]

Dec 30, 2013 10:50:40 GMT -5 @mx said:

I used to believe that Israeli security was superior until I went through it. Now I think they both engage in harassment of innocent people albeit for different reasons and in different ways.

Did you read the article?  I've been through Israeli security, many times, both in and outside of the airport.  In order to drive into the airport you're questioned as to where you're going; who you're getting; where you live; where you're from; etc. before you fly out.  Even if you're picking someone up, you're subject to scrutiny.  

It's a way of profiling people instead of things, which, is exactly what the article talks about.  The difference in the US and Israel is that in Israel there are certain things that you give up for the sake of security.  "None of your business" or an attitude that your goings on are none of someone's business isn't well received.  It's not just airports though.  In Israel you're subject to being searched in malls and supermarkets and hotels.  Most of the time it's just a quick shake of the bag or pat of the back or pop of the trunk because security is looking more for how you react than anything else.  

It's understandable that Americans and other people who aren't used to this type of scrutiny might see it as harassment.  Do they question people of Arab descent (which is what you seem to be insinuating), sure, but they also question everyone else too.  When I lived there I was a blonde woman traveling with an Israeli passport but I was grilled every time I flew.  Dumb questions like "Are you Jewish? Which synagogue did you grow up in? Did you have a Bat Mitzvah? Are you married? Where is your husband?" that have nothing to do with the fact that I might have something in my luggage but everything to do with the fact that someone who is nervous or defensive while flying may be subject to further scrutiny.  

[mcc]

Jan 4, 2014 21:13:59 GMT -5 @mx said:

Jan 4, 2014 21:10:32 GMT -5 mcc said:

Did you read the article?  I've been through Israeli security, many times, both in and outside of the airport.  In order to drive into the airport you're questioned as to where you're going; who you're getting; where you live; where you're from; etc. before you fly out.  Even if you're picking someone up, you're subject to scrutiny.  

It's a way of profiling people instead of things, which, is exactly what the article talks about.  The difference in the US and Israel is that in Israel there are certain things that you give up for the sake of security.  "None of your business" or an attitude that your goings on are none of someone's business isn't well received.  It's not just airports though.  In Israel you're subject to being searched in malls and supermarkets and hotels.  Most of the time it's just a quick shake of the bag or pat of the back or pop of the trunk because security is looking more for how you react than anything else.  

It's understandable that Americans and other people who aren't used to this type of scrutiny might see it as harassment.  Do they question people of Arab descent (which is what you seem to be insinuating), sure, but they also question everyone else too.  When I lived there I was a blonde woman traveling with an Israeli passport but I was grilled every time I flew.  Dumb questions like "Are you Jewish? Which synagogue did you grow up in? Did you have a Bat Mitzvah? Are you married? Where is your husband?" that have nothing to do with the fact that I might have something in my luggage but everything to do with the fact that someone who is nervous or defensive while flying may be subject to further scrutiny.  

What I'm referring to is the fact that I (also a blond woman) was strip searched and interrogated for more than an hour when there is absolutely nothing in my behavior or history that would make me remotely a threat to a mouse much less an airplane. It was purely harassment based on who I work for. 

That sucks. I get that you're annoyed but that doesn't mean the entire system is flawed.  Perhaps there was a credible threat, someone thought you were acting nervous, there is a history with your employer, or someone just had a bad day and wanted to make yours worse.  You never know.  Not every system is flawless, but their's is far superior to TSA, both in and out of the airport.

[alleinesein]

Jan 4, 2014 21:13:59 GMT -5 @mx said:

Jan 4, 2014 21:10:32 GMT -5 mcc said:

Did you read the article?  I've been through Israeli security, many times, both in and outside of the airport.  In order to drive into the airport you're questioned as to where you're going; who you're getting; where you live; where you're from; etc. before you fly out.  Even if you're picking someone up, you're subject to scrutiny.  

It's a way of profiling people instead of things, which, is exactly what the article talks about.  The difference in the US and Israel is that in Israel there are certain things that you give up for the sake of security.  "None of your business" or an attitude that your goings on are none of someone's business isn't well received.  It's not just airports though.  In Israel you're subject to being searched in malls and supermarkets and hotels.  Most of the time it's just a quick shake of the bag or pat of the back or pop of the trunk because security is looking more for how you react than anything else.  

It's understandable that Americans and other people who aren't used to this type of scrutiny might see it as harassment.  Do they question people of Arab descent (which is what you seem to be insinuating), sure, but they also question everyone else too.  When I lived there I was a blonde woman traveling with an Israeli passport but I was grilled every time I flew.  Dumb questions like "Are you Jewish? Which synagogue did you grow up in? Did you have a Bat Mitzvah? Are you married? Where is your husband?" that have nothing to do with the fact that I might have something in my luggage but everything to do with the fact that someone who is nervous or defensive while flying may be subject to further scrutiny.  

What I'm referring to is the fact that I (also a blond woman) was strip searched and interrogated for more than an hour when there is absolutely nothing in my behavior or history that would make me remotely a threat to a mouse much less an airplane. It was purely harassment based on who I work for. 

An Israeli serurity agent at the Tel Aviv airport told one of my former coworkers that 'single women do not travel alone in Israel for 3 months nor do they spend 3 months working there'.  She had ALL of the paperwork to support it but they didn't care.  She was strip searched, questioned for 2 hours and then they would only let her board the plane with her passport- no carry on or cash. 

[winnied]

Jan 4, 2014 21:28:14 GMT -5 @mx said:

No, they do the same thing to all American women under 45 who work for NGOs. It happens to all of my female colleagues. No matter what you say or do it's going to happen.

The hilarious part is that I work for a stridently non-secular, apolitical organization that works in both Israel and the Paletinian territories with the explicit approval of the Israeli government for all of our activities--most of which are funded by Israel's biggest ally--the US Government. It's just harassment. No American employee of Care or IRC or Doctors without Borders has ever blown up a plane and they know that. They just don't like that we are there so they harass us so we don't want to come back. And it's a shame because it worked, I will never go back unless I have to for work. And up until that moment leaving the country, I was fully intending to come back as a tourist because I had enjoyed Israel so much.

I haven't love for the TSA either, but at this time I don't have any other citizenships so I'm kind of stuck with them.

This explains what happened to my friend this summer, we couldn't figure it out. She's a single, white female who was working in the middle east for three months.