As talk continues in Britain about security at tube stations and public buildings, I can’t help but recall an eventful few weeks I once spent in Israel.
In order to protect British civilians, and in particular Londoners from the risk of suicide bombers surely there could be no better example to follow than that of a nation that has been dealing at first hand with suicide bombings against civilians for decades. The only question is how far are Londoners prepared to allow their civil liberties to be eroded in order to decrease the questionable risk of further suicide bombings?
In Israel, a passport is not something that is used to cross borders; it is an entry card to just about every office building in the nation. When you enter an office building in Israel, you are greeted by a security desk with a well armed security officer that demands you present your passport for inspection; you may or may not be subject to a metal screening and bag search.
Outside every shopping centre, train station, bus station, hotel, and the vast majority of bars, cafes and bistros and even some small newsagents there are further well armed security guards that run a handheld metal detector over your body, and ask you to open your bags (SLOWLY!!!) and let them look inside. They also may ask you for you passport details. If they see something that they do not like in your bag, the very least of your worries is that you are refused entry to whatever building it was you wanted to enter.
When you are asked for your passport, your passport details are recorded. The effect of this is that at any given time, it is likely that your whereabouts are on file. Your movements are being tracked by the security guards that pass the information to the security services. Your movements play a part in determining how the security services judge your risk to the population. I spent a day in a refugee camp near Bethlehem and in Bethlehem itself. My details were taken before I entered and when I came out, along with the obligatory searches. When the time came for me to fly back to London, I was singled out at the airport in Tel-Aviv and subjected to severely over the top searches, questioning and re-questioning. Clearly, my trip into the Palestinian territories had marked me as a more dangerous individual than any of my fellow passengers.
The best way to describe the security precautions is as a police state, and the best comparison in Britain today is the routine that you go through at any of the major airports. The question for the Londoner is do you want to go through airport like security when trying to get a pint in at your local, or to do your weekly shopping, or each morning as you board the tube to get to work? My answer is no, I’d sooner take my chances.