Both Israeli and U.S. politicians often discuss the shared values and interests of the two countries, but shared outcomes are also a big part of that package and emerge time and time again in the economic, foreign policy and security realms.
As Washington struggled to cobble together a debt limit increase and deficit reduction package, the prospect of a credit rating decrease continue to haunt the United States. While the Standard and Poor’s Rating Service has threatened to downgrade the U.S.’ AAA rating, the credit agency is now threatening Israel because the countries’ finances are intertwined.
Israel obtains substantial aid from the United States and has purchased U.S. dollars to help shore-up the Israeli shekel. According to Bloomberg, S&P said Israel “may have its AAA credit rating on U.S.-guaranteed sovereign bonds” lowered, issuing a risk warning that the rating might drop in the next 90 days. A similar warning was issued for the United States.
That S&P trigger of warning Israel at the same time as the United States signals Israel’s reliance on its most important ally.
But, that reliance is a two way street.
Boston’s Logan Airport recently announcing that it was scrapping its existing security procedures in exchange for policies used in Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
Any traveler to Israel knows that the country’s inspectors are no wallflowers and that the bags — and persons — of individuals with any activity deemed suspicious is highly scrutinized. Travelers are asked whether they are Jewish, and often grilled on what synagogue they attend if they have family in Israel. Passports are examined for countries visited, with stamps in Arabic leading to additional questions. Upon learning that a traveler is, gasp, not Jewish, Israeli inspectors often engage that traveler in even more questions and searches.
This process, which is used both before individuals arrive in Israel and when they prepare to leave the country, has produced one of the safest systems. Even though Israel is the target of many terrorists world-wide, the country’s airline industry has a near spotless record on terrorists ability to wreak havoc.
The new Boston program, dubbed Screening Passengers by Observation Techniques, will mirror the Israeli program and therefore provide U.S. travelers with potentially added security.
However, the Israeli process also has its faults that could be magnified in the United States. Putting aside the question of whether the Israeli policy is ethical, distinguishing between Israel Jews and non-Jews is almost a sixth sense for many Israelis and is an accepted distinction for officials to make.
That same type of profiling — to single-out Arabs, for example — would not be acceptable in the United States by both social norms or face muster under anti-discrimination laws. It remains to be seen whether Boston Transportation Security Administration inspectors can implement the Israeli policy of behavioral and personal screening without instituting racial profiling.
Aside from the profiling element, the Israeli system has also been accused of treating travelers with disrespect, especially because individuals are both questioned thoroughly and their luggage is often rummaged through. Further, Israeli officials have encountered quite a few embarrassing tales because of this close interaction, including a recent occurrence of Israeli inspectors using a passenger’s camera to photograph a bare behind.
The Israel intrusive policies have scared away some tourists and travelers, with that type of travel disincentive not optimal for local economies during a period of slow economic growth.
While the Israeli system could provide additional security in Boston, the procedures cannot be implemented at no cost, a price TSA and the Obama administration should most certainly consider.
Regardless of the outcomes of both Israel’s credit rating and the behavioral screening airport security pilot program, these instances highlight one undeniable fact — the United States and Israel are bound, both benefiting from their interlaced policies. However, this symbiosis between the countries can also occasionally, albeit rarely, lead to some uncomfortable outcomes that ideally would not occur. Hopefully, though, the debt ceiling increase averts a credit downgrade and TSA agents will resist the temptation, among other things, to photograph their rear ends.
