Post #4138422

2026-07-27 11:45 UTC

I have traveled out of Ben Gurion probably 30 times at this point - so my report here is anecdotal, but with quite a bit of anecdata behind it. If you are lucky, the initial interrogation can be relatively normal - 'did you pack your own bags?' etc. If you are unlucky, you end up answering all sorts of questions about people you know from random places - as I used to live in Jerusalem, I was often asked 'do you know anyone on the *other* side of the city?' i.e. East Jerusalem, the Palestinian part of Jerusalem. Where did you meet these people? What's the most recent time you spoke to them? Let me look at your Whatsapp. etc. Similarly with the secondary screening. If you are lucky, they wave a wand over a bunch of your stuff, make sure there is no 'bomb juice' (or whatever it is those things scan for) and let you go. If you are unlucky, they take everything out of your luggage and begin interrogating you about various items - where did you get them? why are you taking it? etc. 2/n

Replies (1)

@pjw@social.coop 2026-07-27 11:50

Twice I have needed to speak with the security agent's boss because of stickers that I have on my laptop. Once it was a sticker that said "From Gaza to Sderot (an Israeli city near Gaza), children want to live" (it rhymes in Hebrew). Another time it was a sticker that said "There is no democracy with occupation". It's humiliating and degrading in a way that is extremely difficult to articulate, and instead of becoming desensitized to it, I find anger building in me more and more each time I go through the airport. One time I made the mistake of mouthing off to the supervisor ("Is it illegal to have a political opinion in Israel? I'm just trying to figure out why I'm deemed a threat."). (That was a mistake, but I still managed to escape without an arrest or something.) I know others who have had their phones confiscated - taken to another room to do God knows what kind of analysis. - These are not necessarily activists or political people, by the way. 3/n

Open ##4138421