Would El Al Care About a Jar of Nutella?

I used to love flying. I used to love airports. Well, the cost and increasing inconvenience have taken the fun out of flying in America. Only when flying overseas does my former love of flying come out because overseas the security is more sensible, the flights more comfortable, and the personnel more friendly.

What are we getting for our inconvenience and increasing costs? Supposedly increased security, but does it really make sense to force parents to pour out their child's milk or juice or to prevent parents from taking aquafor onto planes? Does this really make us safer?

A friend of mine in California flew back from a trip to Europe recently. She flew from her European destination through Paris, to a stopover in America and then home to Los Angeles. In her carryon was an unopened jar of Nutella. For those who don't know about this, it is a hazelnut spread that some Europeans love on toast. Obviously a threat to our national security.

My friend got on her plane in Europe without anyone caring about her jar of Nutella. She then went through the Paris airport without anyone caring about her jar of Nutella. Then she reached America and she was told that she could not take her unopened jar of Nutella on her next flight. The security agent took this VERY seriously, was stern and even threatening.

Now, my friend managed to convince the person to let her take it using methods I will not reveal...suffice it to say age and gender can be used to advantage. But what struck me was that an item that is completely harmless was not viewed with suspicion in Europe but was considered a major concen by security in the US.

We can't take juice or milk on board for our baby and we aren't supposed to take Nutella on board. Is this in any way making us safer? Is US security nothing but a farce or is European security missing something. I am left asking myself what would El Al do?

El Al's security is widely seen as the best in the business. I have seen it in action. When my wife and I flew into and out of Tel Aviv, we found the security efficient but very tight. El Al takes their security VERY seirously and their experience with dealing with terrorism is far more extensive than America's. My wife and I were extensively questioned by El Al security...politely but in great detail. We had to be able to answer where we had been, what we had seen there, what exhibits were at the museums we visited, who we stayed with, how we knew them, etc. etc. etc. And for anyone who thinks El Al does nothing but racial profiling, my wife and I do NOT fit any profile except pasty white American Jew.

What does El Al think of bringing Nutella on board?

The answer is I don't know per se. But I do find that El Al includes a link to a PDF on the new EU standards on liquids and gels on board. These rules sound similar to the ones that the US has in place. And yet my friend had no trouble in Europe transporting Nutella on planes. Only in the US did she have trouble. Again, this suggests that either European security is laxer, or Ameican security is rigid beyond reason. El Al does not list its own rules regarding liquids and gels, merely mentioning the EU rules. I don't know if this means you have the same problems on El Al that we have on American carriers or not.

But one thing I do know...El Al security experts consider American security ludicrous. This comes out in an interview between a former El Al security chief. His main criticism is that the US uses inadequately screened and trained personnel and relies on technology too much while El Al focuses far more on training their security people.

It is pretty clear that America is spending HUGE amounts of money, creating HUGE inconveniences and delays, and not really accomplishing anything. I use Nutella as a particularly silly example. But really we are failing to keep America safe and all we are doing is wasting money and time in huge amounts.

I have no easy solution other than to look to other countries for what they do and see if it is better. El Al is the world standard. Other places I have traveled seem to have sensible security (e.g. in Turkey, Germany, etc.) but I don't know the statistics.

One excellent discussion of US vs. Israeli security can be found on Salon.com. In that article the author outlines how dumb America's security measures are, how good Israel's are, and how America probably does NOT want to blindly adopt Israel's measures because it would mean turning America into a police state. I am not sure I agree with him, though I certainly consider his discussion excellent overall. Here are a few excerpts:

Once you're in the building, a security agent has a look at your ticket, thumbs through your passport, and conducts a brief interview. The process isn't unlike the short, Lockerbie-induced Q-and-A debriefings one goes through at European airports, though for us, fresh from a neighboring Arab country, it entailed a mini-interrogation. Why we had chosen to visit Jordan? (To see Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum and everything in between.) How long were we there? (Six days.) How did we get around? (Rented a car.) Were we asked to carry gifts or packages? (No, but I did have a souvenir Palestinian flag tucked inside a magazine.)

All bags, carry-ons and otherwise, are next run through InVision machines prior to check-in. These igloo-shaped CT scanners probe for bombs and explosives. InVision units have become common in the United States too, but TLV has the process streamlined to a science. Any luggage flagged for extra scrutiny is routed, along with its owner, to a separate station for a hand inspection. There, the staff is able to pull up the resultant scan on a touch-screen monitor, pinpointing whatever offending item roused suspicion (such as a piece of ceramic pottery from the Jordanian city of Madaba).

After check-in and seat assignment, passengers head to the immigration line, where the formalities are about the same as in most other countries. Then, down a short corridor for a quick, straightforward trip through the metal detector, and one more X-ray for carry-ons.

Total time from curbside to boarding lounge, excluding several minutes in the check-in queue, was approximately 25 minutes. Less than half an hour for an explosives scan, open-bag hand search, documents check, security interview and X-ray inspection. That's a shorter time than it takes to pass through a single metal detector in many U.S. terminals.

And a note to the TSA: There is no foolish shoe removal in Israel. I don't know what recommendations old Rafi Ron passed along to his counterparts in America, but more than four years after Sept. 11, our own airport protocols, woefully preoccupied with footwear and hobby knives, remain embarrassingly disorganized and jury-rigged. Culled from the army, Tel Aviv's security staff is young, fit, polite and extremely attentive. How to say this without insulting the hard-working TSA employees out there, but on top of all else, Israel's airport guardians simply look like professionals.

Read the full article for an excellent discussion of security vs. freedom by Patrick Smith, an airline pilot.

I feel that under Republican leadership we are ALREADY turning our nation into a police state (with the FULL cooperation of people like Joe Lieberman and NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg and with too much complacency by Democrats) but are doing so in a way that looks more like Terry Gillian's movie "Brazil" than anything efficient. To throw out our stupider rules and taking lessons from Israel would be a good way to start, taking the concerns of the Salon.com author into account. But one thing is clear to me: the combined efforts of Republican security measures (the expensive laughing stock of the world) and airline mismanagement has made air travel almost unbearable even to travel buffs like me. My days of enjoying air travel are long gone. I now only travel for business or for family matters. I can't say I travel for pleasure anymore because I'd rather just stay home and relax than deal with the fiascos that American airports have become. And New York's own La Guardia is among the worst I have experienced!

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