Ok, anyone who has any whining to do about American airport security simply needs to fly out of Jerusalem. This is an airport where the rule of showing up two hours before an international flight actually means something.
Upon entering the terminal you must pass through a stringent security line before even getting to the check-in counter. In this line they take your passport and ask you a series of questions. I told them why I had been there and actually had a program in my briefcase that I showed. Then of course they ask things like “did you make any friends while you were here?” etc etc, in addition to the standard questions about who packed your luggage et al (which they actually ask like they care). They also seem to have this routine where one person will be talking to you and asking questions (which they actually do in a pretty conversational fashion) and one of their colleagues will “stop by” and join in just to change up the rhythm. Seems like a pretty good tactic to me, you have to have your story straight.
After this they x-ray all of your luggage, and THEN they take it all and open everything in front of you, going through all of it very thoroughly and asking questions the whole time. After closing up your luggage you are then allowed to approach the check-in counter. After checking-in you go to passport control. And no, it’s not over. Between passport control and the gate there is another security checkpoint similar to what we have in America, only more thorough. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s one more point to go through before the gate, where they examine your passport and boarding card.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt safer getting on a plane. Not that I’ve ever felt unsafe, but I don’t see how anyone could get something over on those guys.
As I write this I’m on the train from NYC back to the Bard Festival where tomorrow I have to resume rehearsal for the Zemlinsky. I left the hotel in Jerusalem at 8:45a this morning (Jerusalem is seven hours ahead of NY), and including transit to the airport and the 11.5 hour flight I will have been on the road 21 hours by the time I arrive at the festival. No rest for the weary, right? Or is it no rest for the wicked? I can never remember.
Anyway, thanks for reading about my adventures. I’m planning to post once or twice a week just to maintain my readership until my next big adventure. So, stay tuned and let me know if you have any topic suggestions I should write about!
