Turkish lesson for Israel
Op-ed: Israelis held up in Turkey felt what Arab Israelis always go through when traveling
The delay experienced by Israeli passengers in Istanbul stirred up emotions nationwide and further deteriorated the ties between Ankara and Jerusalem, pushing them to a new nadir. The passengers said that they were abused and subjected to unnecessary, irrelevant security screening. What will the Arab passengers living in the State of Israel say, after undergoing abuses that are similar and even graver at Ben-Gurion Airport, under the auspices of the state they live in and whose passport they carry?
What Israeli passengers in Turkey experienced has already become a sort of habit among Arab passengers, many of whom are subjected to humiliating treatment when traveling overseas. The strict security screening reflects the general policy of discrimination adopted by most state institutions towards the Arab minority living on its soil. Arab citizens are perceived as hostile and suspicious just because they are Arabs “who constitute a national security threat.” Every Arab citizen who plans a vacation or wishes to study abroad or fly for any other purpose must get to the airport very early, because he knows what awaits him there.
You almost never hear about it, but many citizens turn to Arabic-language media outlets in order to recount the abuses they went through, the lengthy screening and questioning, and the unnecessary delays. This is doubly outrageous because virtually all of them do not have a security-related or criminal record.
The abuses begin at the main entrance to Ben-Gurion Airport. Many citizens reported that security officers asked them to stand to the side after realizing they were Arab, while all other vehicles entered after one or two questions from the security guard. This happened before the lengthy, exhausting security screening process prior to the check-in and boarding; this sometimes causes passengers to board the plane late or miss the flight altogether. Vacations often turn into nightmares.
The racially based discrimination in security screening deeply hurts Arab citizens. It gravely undermines human dignity and freedom, violates privacy, and most of all, undermines the right to equality through the humiliating treatment, the hurtful questions, the physical searches and the digging through suitcases. In some cases, passengers were escorted by security officers, openly or secretly, while at the airport and until the plane took off, an act that gravely undermines freedom of movement. If one refuses the search, he is prevented from boarding the plane.
Honor international laws
I’ve visited many countries, especially in Europe, and felt the immense difference between the security screening here and the treatment accorded to me by non-Israeli security officers. The screening nightmare does not end upon departure from Israel. It continues overseas as well. As opposed to many global airlines, most flights arriving in Israel undergo security screening by Israeli officers. Upon my return from a family trip to Paris with my partner, I went through a humiliating security screening.
I became a suspect within seconds, they opened all our suitcases and placed them on a table in front of other passengers; all of them could see what I was bringing back to Israel. In the final stage before boarding the plane, it was the turn of French security officers, and I felt my trampled honor had been restored after they thoroughly checked the other passengers, who were not asked anything by the Israeli guards. None of the French officers asked me unnecessary questions.
The unequal security screening constitutes a blatant violation of international human rights laws as well as global agreements and conventions on the prevention of discrimination. The enlightened, democratic State of Israel must honor these laws and conventions and operate in line with them, yet the state does the exact opposite – to its own citizens. Indeed, every state has the right to protect itself, yet it should do so with equality and without discrimination, while safeguarding the rights of all its citizens.
What they did to you in Istanbul is a small lesson that perhaps you had to experience in order to learn the lesson and feel what we go through when we leave or enter the country. The difference is that you don’t have to travel to Turkey, yet we cannot stop traveling overseas. We shall continue to enter and leave the country whenever we want to and travel wherever we wish to.
Said Adawi is the managing editor of the Kul al-Arab newspaper, published in Nazareth
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