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ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY

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ORIGINAL: kittinSol

Since the way Israeli security officers do the profiling is by asking passengers intelligent questions, and not by singling out people according to their ethnic origins, my answer is yes.

Security controversy and passenger profiling

Critics of El Al note that its security checks on passengers include racial profiling[50] and have argued that such profiling is unfair, irrational, and degrading to those subject to such screening. Supporters of El Al argue that there is nothing inherently racist about passenger profiling and that special scrutiny of Muslims may often be necessary for security purposes

Profiling works for Israeli airline
By Bronwyn Eyre, The StarPhoenixJanuary 2, 2010

"In the blink of an eye, Israeli security would have pulled out a 23-year-old male travelling alone who had recently been in Yemen," said Mary Schiavo, former U.S. Transportation Department inspector general.

"He and his luggage would have been completely searched."

The problem is, Israeli procedures come up against western anti-discrimination laws.

"One of the major differences between us and Israel is that part of their profiling includes nationality, national origin, race, religion, age and physical appearance," Schiavo says.

U.S. airport directors study Israeli airline passenger screening
By The Associated Press

With the heavy summer travel season looming, airport directors from U.S. cities on Tuesday studied Israel's airline passenger screening system, known as one of the world's toughest and most effective.

The visitors noted the main difference between the two countries - Israeli security openly employs profiling, singling out passengers for stricter screening based on their appearance or ethnic group, a practice that is banned in the U.S.

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"The Israelis are legendary for their security," said Steven Grossman, head of aviation at the Oakland, California, International Airport.

Israeli experts say bolstering security efforts requires an extensive, and at times intrusive, interrogation process. Upon reaching the departure terminal, all passengers undergo individual questioning by security officers, who probe everything from their religious beliefs to travel companions inside the country.

Since profiling is employed, stricter security checks are not random. Instead, Israeli citizens are passed through with minimal questioning, unless they are Israeli Arabs, who are often subjected to humiliating body searches and interrogation. The security process has triggered many complaints, but little has been done to ease the checks.

Foreigners almost automatically receive closer scrutiny, and racial or other types of profiling can trigger extensive questioning and searching.
The Israelis believe this is one of the keys to their success, and the airport officials from the U.S. could only speculate about how it would affect their work.

"Let's face it. The whole issue of profiling - that is a difficult word to use in the United States," Grossman said. "The level at which they do it is far beyond, I think, anything we practically can do, for reasons of legal liability and higher number of passengers."

One of the major reasons that Israeli security is so good, is due to racial, ethnic and religious profiling.

Do you still think that the US system should use the same system of profiling?

Firm