El Al: Security Without Sexual Assault

It is the topic on everyone’s mind right now. If you know you have travel plans, you’ve begun dreading the experience more than ever. If flying gives you anxiety, it has most likely taken a backseat to the security measures you know you are about to experience. You‘ve never “sexted” and sending naked pictures of yourself on the computer or your phone never even crossed your mind -but with the new TSA imaging and the picture we’ve all seen (unless you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere) you know the possibilities of real humiliation exist and your personal images could be released online. Machines that weren’t supposed to have the capabilities of storing images, seems to have created that capability overnight for thousands of images have been saved and released on line- giving the public a glimpse of travelers.

But, the real question leaves everyone wondering if this is even effective. Why are we constantly running on defense instead of working on offense? And, more importantly, why are we abandoning common sense for political correctness that could end up killing more Americans? Why aren’t we looking to Israel for the kind of security that has provided them a 100% success rate?

I’ve visited the Middle East multiple times and flown through El Al each and every time. I can tell you this… Israel doesn’t play. They don’t waste time patting down 3 year olds and old nuns. The minute you walk into that airport you are being talked to and asked questions. There is no joking with the TSA agents, no small talk with Homeland Security. Even if you aren’t guilty of a thing, you feel nervous. And I can promise you that when you step foot on a plane after your experience with El Al that you know for certain you are safe and everyone on that plane is exactly who they say that they are.

They aren’t afraid to profile- a little thing as a hurt feeling doesn‘t faze them. They understand that they are a constant target and that, given the slightest opportunity and chance, a terrorist would blow them up in a heartbeat. They know their enemy. They understand their enemy. And that is who they look for. These people aren’t the local Walmart greeters– they are trained professionals who put your feelings second and your safety first and they do it all without fondling your genitals…unless they detect that you pose a threat.

"Isaac Yeffet, the former head of security for El Al and now an aviation security consultant in New York, said El Al has prevented terrorism in the air by making sure every passenger is interviewed by a well-trained agent before check-in.

“Stop relying only on technology,” Yeffet told CNN. “Technology can help the qualified, well-trained human being but cannot replace him.”'

What are some of the security measures that El Al takes that America could learn from? (From IsraeliInsider)

* Every car, bus and motorized vehicle is stopped and questioned by armed guards (with machine guns) the instant it enters the airport grounds.

* Guards are stationed at every entrance to the airport and patrolling the areas…with guns, very big guns.

* Passengers can be questioned the moment they walk through the doors and they know they most likely will.

By questioning passengers, guards can quickly spot those who appear nervous, Leo Gleser, a former El Al security officer and head of security consulting firm ISDS recently told The Associated Press. Gleser said passengers are profiled — while most Israeli Jews quickly pass through security inspection, Arabs and certain foreigners are singled out for intense grilling.

* Luggage can be opened at their discretion and searched-sometimes down to a tube of lipstick or toothpaste. (On multiple occasions, I’ve seen them open someone’s luggage and spread every single item on a blanket on the floor as they pick through the seemingly most minute item).

* Every piece of luggage is scanned by a high tech scanner before it is allowed on the plane. (We only spot check the luggage here in America.)

* Security measures continue even after the security checkpoints with machines and agents stationed throughout the boarding areas.

* Flights are delayed when luggage makes it on the plane but the passengers do not and the luggage is removed.

* Air Marshals in plain clothes are on every flight. If, by some chance, a terrorist or a hijacker makes it onto the plane, they are guaranteed a bullet through the brain at the first hint of revelation.

* Cockpit doors are impenetrable. There is absolutely no way that they can be opened.

* El Al is the only airline that places all of the luggage in a decompression chamber before take off.

"At least 10 planes have been blown up with explosives set off by a barometric fuse, sensitive to altitude."

So, knowing this, should security measures within airports be taken away from our inept government and privatized with measures similar to El Al?

"According to reports, an increased fear of flying has led to a surge in demand for El Al flights. The company, which has suffered a major loss of business as tourism to Israel sharply dropped after the outbreak of Palestinian violence last year, may see its expected losses offset by renewed demand.

“Israelis were canceling their flights and then changing their minds, so we’ve had a lot of crossover from people who have expressed a desire to fly El Al,” said Nachman Klieman, El Al’s spokesman. “The demand has been tremendous.”

El Al was the first airline to resume international flights out of the New York metropolitan area after America’s airspace was reopened following the September 11th attacks. The increased demand for the airline’s flights could be a temporary windfall if competitors begin to emulate El Al security techniques."

It’s not hard to see why America is the laughingstock of the country right now. Our security measures are a joke- coming about as a result and effort for political correctness instead of real safety and namby pansy politicians who are more concerned with feelings than our real safety.

We could certainly learn a lesson from the greatest security airline in the world. And we should.

I, for one, don’t think we are trying to catch anyone.I believe this whole thing is a CYA response to intelligence reports of an increased threat level. Why else would they start this enhanced security just days before the busiest travel season of the year? They say it is in response to the Xmas day bomber, but if that were true, why did they wait almost a year? I am convinced they have learned of a new threat and are afraid to panic the public. The only other plausible explanation would be revenge for the election debacle they suffered. Take your pick.

I have said this here before and I'll say it again:

SUBCONTRACT ALL OF OUR AIRLINE SECURITY TO THE ISRAELIES AND DISBAND THE WORTHLESS TSA.

I am not Jewish, but I have been through Israel four times on business and it was the SAFEST I ever felt on an airline.

And if their security measures p-ss off somebody - tough. Their measures are targeted, and aimed at the people they should be, not everyone.

I confess that I vacillate between the CYA theory and the concept that the reds in the WH simply want to drive the American economy into the ground. The Bush WH started this fiasco, but it has gotten into high gear the past two years. Got a better idea. It turns out that airports do not have to use TSA screeners. They can use a private company instead. So, my idea is that they hire El Al personnel. I'll go thru that any day.

SUBCONTRACT ALL OF OUR AIRLINE SECURITY TO THE ISRAELIES AND DISBAND THE WORTHLESS TSA.

There system workes because they have very few passengers flying. There is only 40 planes in the entire El Al fleet.

Their system would never work in a busy US airport. I don't have the answers and pat downs are not the way to go.

Probably a less instrusive scanner that just shows a blob.

“Their system would never work in a busy US airport.”

We also have a much bigger population and are spending close to billions on "security" right now. If the concern were ACTUALLY about airline safety, the system would be here. And after the next terrorist attack occurs, IT WILL BE.

I just don't know why it will take another round of deaths before this PC, posturing crap is put aside and a system that ACTUALLY works is put into place.

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