Israel is big on security. Think about it and you’ll totally get why. It’s something that is nearly impossible to miss on a daily basis. They’re also fairly notorious for their rather difficult border crossings, particularly if you have one of many potential “suspect” stamps, primarily from any Arab country. After 6 weeks in the region, I’d started adapting to these stringent procedures. I mean, surely I’d seen everything right? Wrong.
I’d been warned that flying out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) can be a rather difficult process. Matt from LandLopers wrote about his experience being escorted to the gate there last year. So knowing this, I arrived at the airport a full 3.25 hours before my flight was due to depart. Little did I know, it would take me 2 hours just to clear the various levels of security and get stamped out of the country…
An Advance Warning
“They might ask you some questions,” our taxi driver warned us as we approached a gate on the highway. “For security reasons,” he added. The first wave was upon us, though this person simply chatted with the taxi driver in Hebrew and waved us on.
The real experience started in the terminal itself, where you are directed to one of four check-in areas based on the airline you’re flying. From there, you immediately get in a line, which is where the real fun begins! First…
The Interview
Little did I know that a few questions could have such a huge effect on my day… But I was ready for whatever the friendly, nice, young gentlemen could throw at me.
“Where are you going,” he asked?
“New York via Kiev,” I replied.
“Do you have any family in Israel?”
“Not as far as I know…”
“Did anyone give you anything to bring back with you,” he inquired?
“No.”
“So your bag hasn’t left your sight?
“No.”
“Who packed your bag?”
“I did.”
“Is this your first time in Israel?
“Sort of, I went in and out 3 times to visit Egypt and Jordan.”
“Egypt? Is that safe right now?”
“Yes. I went to Cairo and you’d never know anything was happening outside of Tahrir Square.”
“Hmmm. What brought you to Israel?”
“I came with a Birthright trip.”
“Oh really? Where’s the rest of your group?”
“They left December 18. I extended.”
“Did you come with a community?”
“No.”
“Are you particularly religious?”
“No.”
“High holidays or something?”
“No pretty secular.”
“Like most of Israel then,” he chuckled.
It was all very friendly and cordial. Then he starts questioning me about the validity of my claim…
“How does one get on a Birthright trip?”
“You need to be Jewish between the ages of 18 and 26.”
“Is it just for people who’ve never visited Israel before?”
“No, but you have to have not come to Israel on an educational trip before.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
“Do you speak any other languages?
“Spanish.”
“What about any Hebrew?”
“No.”
“None at all?”
“I picked up a few words on the trip but that’s all.”
“Sorry to ask again, but who packed your bags?”
“I did.”
And finally, a question I’d hear so many, many times from nearly everyone I’d encounter: “What time is your flight?”
He kept apologizing for asking such “personal questions.” But finally, a barcode was stuck onto my passport and my bag. Little did I know this little number would have such a large effect on my fate.
Luggage Screening
From there, we had to put our bags through a heavy duty scanner, which seemed rather silly since the very next station was a thorough searching of your checked luggage by hand.
Nearly every pocket was opened on my backpack and nearly every object swabbed for explosives. Now, I’m very organized when I pack and my fantastic 32 liter backpack (which, incidentally, weighs a mere 8.5kg), is full of lots of pockets for storing stuff. While this is great for organization, it’s not good for getting through this process, or repacking my entire bag in a hurry…
“I’m really sorry about all the mess,” the nice young lady who’d gone through my stuff told me, as she waited to escort me to the check-in desk. There I was instructed to bring my backpack to the “special elevator,” to which I was escorted. “Would I ever see my bag again,” I wondered?
Security Checkpoint
From there it was onto security, where they could’ve cared less about seeing my boarding pass or ID. All they were interested in was my barcode, a quick scan of which dictates which security line I go to.
“Line 2,” I was told; a special line that can only be entered by permission. Clearly, I’d told the guy something I shouldn’t have. “What do you have to do to end up in this line,” I jokingly asked the guy in front of me. “Oh be a criminal or something,” he joked back. At least that’s how we felt.
Line 2 should be remembered by the fact that it did not move. At all. I spent roughly 45 minutes in this short line that only kept getting longer behind me. I noticed from the guy who had taken over directing people that one quick glance at the number on the barcode meant he could direct you appropriately.
By the time I finally hit the checkpoint, I knew it would be a thorough check. All electronics had to be removed from the bag, including chargers. Interestingly enough, you did not have to remove your shoes and they lacked those full body scanners that have been taking over at U.S. airports.
On the other side of the metal detector were a few chairs, a somber sign of the lengthy process ahead, where your carry-on baggage was thoroughly searched with the same attention to detail as your checked luggage. Everything was unpacked and swabbed. But much to my surprise, after this process I was waved on, unlike the poor sap who had 3 people going through his luggage in even greater detail!
From there it was onto immigration, one of the most ridiculously easy checkpoints I’d been through, even when leaving Israel by land previously. “What’s your family name,” was the one and only question and before I knew it, I was stamped out and on my way!
The Barcode
I would come to learn from my seatmate that the first digit of your barcode denotes the “threat” level you are perceived at from your interview. 1 meant no threat at all. I was a 5. Apparently 6 means you’re super duper suspicious…
And from the sounds of things, I could have had it much worse. After all, there are numerous reports of people being escorted to the gate and being allowed to board only with their wallets and passports! Perhaps I should consider myself lucky?
Oh, and for the record, my bag did end up back at JFK with me!
What About You?
Have you flown out of Ben Gurion or experienced tough security measures before? What was your experience like?
I love the way you told this story; I felt like I was right there with you! It really brought back memories of when I was labeled a ’6′ in that airport and frisked in a little booth off to the side. It was so thorough that it almost felt like a massage!
The reason I was considered high risk, according to another traveler, is that security saw me, a solo female traveler, as someone who might have a Palestinian boyfriend (who may have packed my bag.) Also, they didn’t like where I’d been: Jordan and Syria.
Anyway, I think you are pretty lucky. It could have gone worse, believe me!
Hahaha “almost felt like a massage.” Love it! I’ve been patted down by the TSA before and it certainly didn’t bring a massage to mind! Maybe they can learn a thing or too from the folks in Israel.
I’m not surprised you were labeled a 6 having been to Syria. My American friend that I visisted in Iraq said he spent nearly 10 hours at the border trying to enter Israel, where I had originally met him! He had flown in and out of Amman, so he didn’t have to deal with the security at Ben Gurion!
I got frisked pretty thoroughly. (My female security agent got so personal with my downtown bits I felt like I should have slipped a shekel into her top.)
Of course, I had also been on a Birthright trip and did extend and went to Jordan and Egypt just as you did. I also went out and got drunk my last night in Tel Aviv… before a 5am flight. Protip: however hard getting out of Ben Gurion is sober, it’s more fun drunk.
Hahaha I don’t doubt that it’s more fun drunk though perhaps that may have contributed to why you were frisked and I wasn’t!
After initiial questions (did u pack yourself, why israel etc) I got put in the fast lane, they didn’t scan (let alone search) my checked luggage or backpack and i went straight to bagdrop (i was 3kg overweight but they didn’t say anything). it was terminal one – quite a long walk to passports but straight through and onto shuttle bus to main terminal to catch flight back to london
going back in a few weeks 
Haha lucky you! Glad to hear some folks have it easy! I’m guessing you hadn’t been to any Arab countries?
I take it you’ve never been to england? :p
Touche.
Blurgh – I’ve never exited Israel through Ben Gurion but this makes me a bit nervous! I’ve heard of people being paranoid about leaving the country and having their photos searched, etc. This past time for me visiting was the easiest entry into Israel I’ve ever had, so I’m hoping the exit will be equally easy.
I entered Israel 3 times and only once had a problem while crossing from Jordan into the West Bank (my daypack and passport were taken to a separate room for further screening without me). Still, immigration was a breeze. The guy at the hostel in Tel Aviv had advised me I may have some issues at the airport if I’d visited the West Bank but that never even came up. Apparently Egypt was enough to set off a red flag for the guy interviewing me.
Oh wow! I’ve been interrogated by immigration officers abroad and once at a Canadian/US land crossing but never searched. I applaud you for keeping it together, not becoming obviously frustrated or mouthing off – don’t know if I could have remained cool and collected. Kudos!
Hell, even I’VE been interrogated (of sorts) entering the U.S. and I’m American! I have a Thai student visa that has this “X’d” perforation to it that’s staritng to peel up. The immigration folks thought I’d tried to cut up the visa… Surprisingly though, U.S. immigration could’ve cared less that I’d been to Iraq!
I had two Syria stamps in my passport, one Lebanon, two Jordan, two Egypt and one Sudan. Needless to say, I got three different private interviews. Two in the security line, then one in private. And they took all my hard drives and wanted to look at the stuff on them. As I recall, it took about 4 hours or so –
Yikes! I’ve heard tell tale of them forcing people to log into their email too so they can read what’s in there. I hope you still made your flight on time!
Wow, intense! I get pulled aside for special screening for EVERY trip. My boyfriend jokes that I have been flagged since I travel too often and lived in Argentina. I am all too familiar with the bag searches, pat downs, and bomb swabbing. I think the worst I ever had was in Argentina. They became crazy suspicious of me because my last name is the same as the president’s. They took everything out of my bags, made me repack it. I was patted down several times. I was even with a study abroad group and they just made them wait while I was searched.
Yikes! That does not sound like fun! You’d think that maybe they’d go easy on you in Argentina for having the same name as the president! Maybe you could pass yourself off as a distant relative or something?
That’s a heck of a story, and you told it so! Trust me, as someone who travels with an Indian passport, I get interrogated ALL the time (especially in Jordan). Looks like I will have to budget 5 hours to get through Israel security….
Yikes! I can’t imagine it’s fun to travel with a passport from India…
All a bit worrisome – I am planning on visiting Jordan in a few weeks and want to visit Jerusalem on the same trip. I have an Iranian visa in my passport (Canadian) and my travel partner (also on a Canadian passport) is Pakistani. Do you think the border crossing from Jordan to Israel will be ok (KH bridge) or would flying be better? Getting out might be an issue too.
I think you’ll have issues regardless of which entrance you use. The friend I ended up visiting in Iraq told me it took him 8 hours to cross into Israel via the KH bridge just because he had an Iraqi visa in his passport… I’ve also heard many a tale of people of Middle Eastern origin having a real hard time at border crossings. Chances are your friend will be admitted, but be prepared for a very long, and perhaps intrusive, ordeal…
If you do end up going, be wary of passport stamps, as a number of Muslim countries refuse entry to those who have evidence of visiting Israel. By crossing at the KH bridge, Jordan won’t stamp you and you could ask that Israel doesn’t either, which they’ll probably oblidge (no guarantees though).
I got a threat level 5 and got the same invasive searching and security personnel hand-holding through Ben Gurion. This was the first time I’d been to Israel and I’d just been for taglit with a few extra days in Tel Aviv. On the way there, from Heathrow, after the El Al people gave me a grilling (pro-tip: go easyjet) I got some kind of amber or red tag/sticker (I forget the details) and had to report early to the gate to be specially searched. Has anybody had this experience or know anything more?
I’ve heard that young men traveling alone are considered “suspicious” for some odd reason, no matter if you came over for Taglit. I’m assuming you have a British passport? Do you have any stamps that might have raised eyebrows?