But the biggest obstacle preventing the U.S. from emulating Israeli methods is the differing cultures and mores of the two countries. In Israel, there is far less concern over ethnic and religious profiling. At Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, Arab citizens of Israel regularly face lengthy questioning and extensive searches, while their Jewish counterparts breeze through security checks. Such tactics also are used on foreign-aid workers, journalists and sometimes even diplomats who spend time in the Palestinian territories.
Israeli profiling is employed in sometimes extreme ways during security alerts. In Jerusalem, bomb warnings are often followed by extensive roadblocks that close off Arab villages. Security agents are posted at bus stops with orders to pay special attention to young Arab men. More recently, some of these measures have been extended to Arab women as well, following a handful of successful female suicide bombings. In Israel, these measures have proved successful in limiting terror attacks and are supported by a majority of citizens, who view security as the government's single most important task.
Israelis let would-be bombers who live there know that, if they carry out their mission, their families are likely to be thrown out of the country and their homes bulldozed. "They are promoting the negative consequences that will be felt by your survivors," Mr. Bulla says. "Obviously the government in the U.S. cannot do that kind of marketing strategy within its borders."
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How long before we get these stringent measures in the U.S.? How big must the next attack be before we begin getting serious about profiling our enemies living among us? Any WHY is it "obvious" that we can't use such tactics against our enemies? And what type of blithering idiot would talke about using "marketing strategy" against our enemies? Exactly how does a "marketing strategy" win a battle to save our civilization?
Srry, that's not accurate. Mrs Sofa and the Sofalass got back from Israel a week ago. Israeli Arabs may be scrutinized more than others in some instances, that isn't the norm.
Jews of Middle Eastern decent (Yemeni, Moroccan, Persian, etc) "look" like Arabs...swarthy complection, etc. The profiling is very subtle. An answer to a simple "Shalom" can cause them to look at someone far more carefully. They don't just go by looks. Eye contact, accent, behavior, dress, many factors involved.
I don't know that we should be following Israel's model. How successful are they? They have constant attacks and bombings. Sometimes suicide bombings are daily there. I think the equation is just different there than it is here. There, just like in Europe, you have a large population of possible jihadists. Most palestinians and most muslims in europe are not jihadists, but enough are to create chaos. Here you don't have much of a supply of jihadists. There aren't really any sleeper cells here, and the possible extremists that are here the govt knows about and keeps track of. The problem is different (and less severe) here than it is across the ocean.
I'd rather us not follow the Israeli model of tolerating terrorism without appropriate response. We should, instead of looking to Israel on this topic, look to Saudi Arabia.
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