Trip to Eilat: Is it supposed to be this difficult?
by Ms. Babble on October 18, 2008
in Israel
I imagined that the process of flying from Tel Aviv to Eilat would be a lot like a domestic flight in the United States. You print your ticket. You check your bag. You hand your I.D. to a grim looking woman behind a counter. You shuffle to security…. take off your belt and shoes. And voila! Off to Miami or New York or Los Angeles.
The reality is that Israel is a small country. That’s actually a great thing when traveling. You can get from one end of the country to the other in a day by car. By airplane, it’s even faster (obviously). Which is why I wasn’t sure why I expected the airport to Eilat to look closer to Chicago O’Hare than a McDonalds.
Dov Hoz Airport, Israel
Dov Hoz reminded me of the Kearney, Nebraska airport (puddle jumper hub with 50 person maximum capacity) except the flight board in Dov Hoz only listed Eilat as a destination.
9:00 Eilat on time. 10:00 Eilat on time. 11:30 Eilat on time. 12:30 Eilat on time etc.
I think that’s why I was a little shocked when I was questioned by security. No, wait. Questioned isn’t the right word. I think interrogated better describes it.
At first it seemed simple and efficient just like a domestic U.S. flight. I scanned my bags and handed my passport to a security guy who asked me a few simple questions like, ‘How long have you been in Israel? Why are you going to Eilat?’. Perfectly understandable questions for a foreigner. After he was done with me, E and I went to sit while waiting for the ticket counter to open (we were at least an hour early).
Dov Hoz Airport, Tel Aviv
To my surprise, a young woman from security approached and said they needed to ask me a few more questions. She asked E if I knew how to speak Hebrew (in Hebrew, of course) to which E replied “a little”. Soon we were standing in front of two emotionless security women.
It was relatively early in the morning and, even though I had been awake for several hours already, I didn’t feel fully awake. This actually turned out to be a blessing since my lack of energy translated to the appearance of incredible calm. I didn’t give a hint of nervousness that somehow creeps into people when being questioned by an authority (regardless of their innocence). In fact, it made me feel more irritated that they inconvenienced me rather than the anxiety that I usual get when being questioned.
One woman told us that she was a supervisor and the younger looking girl was being trained to do her job (as an interrogator, apparently).
They played a trick on me by speaking to E in Hebrew first. They asked her a ton of questions about me which I could partially understand but mostly could not. E was sent away to sit again in the terminal and I was left alone. Later I realized they asked her in Hebrew, a language that I can’t fully understand, simply to see if my answer would be the same in English.
“How long have you been here? Why are you here? Where do you live? Who do you know? What did you do before you came? Who paid for this trip?” Those questions were easy.
“Did you quit your job in the U.S.? Was it hard to tell your boss? How did you get information about Israel?” Ok, now it’s getting a little weird.
“Tell me the names of people you know in Israel. Have you ever been to the Middle East before? How long did it take you to plan your trip to Israel? Did you pay for your flight? Who’s idea was it to go to Eilat? “ Alright. Enough already. I’m not a terrorist.
I reasoned that since I was being questioned by a supervisor and her trainee, the questioning was more intense than normal.
Landing in Eilat
Later I found that my interview wasn’t any longer than usual. I was questioned with almost the same intensity flying back to Tel Aviv from Eilat.
The exception with my second interrogation was that the security chick was more curious about my studying at the language school here. She ended up quizzing me a little on my Hebrew knowledge in what I assumed was her way of validating my reason for being here. In afterthought, I think she was simply trying to amuse herself with my poor excuse for foreign language skills.
Apparently, it’s an Israeli thing.
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hey atleast you got to exercise that Hebrew, eh?
Every time I come and go from Israel, I get quite the questioning. I’m a convert, single woman who shares a name with a film-maker. Ugh… never fun–sorry you had to go through it.
Hey Leah. When I have a spare moment, I’ve gotta check out your site! You’re from/in Chicago??
I am in Chicago and have been here 6.5 years. Found you this summer when I was researching aliyah options and have been reading since.
I’m flying to Chicago tomorrow (yes, I know, I should have written something here… but I love surprises!). We’ll have to get together sometime for a drink.