[Peace-discuss] Jewish American Researcher Gets the Treatment on El Al

Fri Jul 26 14:49:33 UTC 2019

Jewish American Researcher Gets the Treatment on El Al 

Facts For Working People shares this article for the interest of our
readers. It was
<https://mondoweiss.net/2019/07/rachel-israel-security/?utm_source=rss&utm_m
edium=rss&utm_campaign=rachel-israel-security&fbclid=IwAR0KmKBa-_AmNR5Hh0cnY
lAJfMg3T55287I4jvSsztm-6KbkUGco5wZUEWc> originally published in MONDOWEISS.
MondoWeiss is not affiliated with Facts For Working People.

My name is Rachel, and Israel thinks I'm a security threat.
 <https://mondoweiss.net/author/rachel-marandett/> Rachel Marandett on July
25, 2019

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t9d3r2Ny4QTu-m6KtyNFACLcBGAs/s1600/D672B599-29E8-4545-8D15-F9D6C0A104FB-1.jp
g>
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TPgowaUnMzM/XToCY8NhCbI/AAAAAAAAPmo/AQWqcHxSOvYNt
9d3r2Ny4QTu-m6KtyNFACLcBGAs/s640/D672B599-29E8-4545-8D15-F9D6C0A104FB-1.jpg

My name is Rachel. I am a Jew. I don't practice, but my grandmothers are
Jewish and I identify as a Jew, so that means I am a Jew. 

My name is Rachel. I study Religious and Middle Eastern Studies. My research
focuses on the Holocaust and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I have
studied in Morocco and the Czech Republic. I know a little bit of Arabic and
I hope I can learn more soon. 

My name is Rachel. I support human rights. I work at a non-profit that
strives to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity. 

My name is Rachel and in the summer of 2019 I was interrogated for an hour
and a half when trying to get on a flight from New Jersey to Tel Aviv. Over
ten members of Israeli security working for the Israeli airline, El Al, took
turns questioning me. My life, my friendships, my studies, and my family
were picked apart. They mired on my Arab and Arab-American friends, the
relationships I made in Morocco, and my research. I was partially strip
searched and my entire body was poked and prodded with hands and scanners.
Every single one of my belongings was confiscated and examined behind closed
doors. I was yelled at by a large group of men to give them my computer
password. They refused to explain why they needed it and I had classified
work documents on my desktop. Scared and overwhelmed after 90 minutes of
questioning, I decided not to comply. I was then off-boarded from the plane.

When I went back to the airport for a rebooking the next day, I was pulled
from the security line within minutes. I was searched and questioned
extensively again and had my luggage and passport labeled a level 6 out of 6
security threat for further examination and interrogation upon my arrival in
Israel. Knowing that there was a good chance I could be turned around in
Israel after enduring hours of questioning yet again, I decided not to try
for a third time to get on a flight with an airline that had already made it
clear they wanted nothing to do with me. 

I don't know why I was treated like this. When I asked, they kept saying
"security." 

They were thought policing. They were racially profiling my friends. They
were afraid of the fact that I wasn't afraid of the Middle East and the
people who call it home. 

                                             **************************

For the purposes of my thesis research, I had wanted to go to both Israel
and Palestine despite the significant issues I take with the actions of the
Israeli government. I wanted to engage first-hand in the issues I spend
every day studying. I was traveling with a research group that I trusted and
respected, so I decided to put aside some of my political perspectives to
accept a grant I was so lucky to have the opportunity to receive. 

However, by essentially denying me entry into the country, Israel asked me
to boycott. And if they want me to, I will. 

The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is non-violent. I am
non-violent. And Israel, you can be non-violent too. 

                                             **************************

I want to tell my story not because I want to get into Israel. In fact, I
know that after I tell it, I probably never will. 

I want to tell my story because if this is what the Israeli government is
doing to a 21-year-old American Jew doing research, what do you think they
are doing to someone whose skin isn't as white as mine? 

This was a challenging experience because interrogation is painful and
draining and because I was barred from an opportunity I was looking forward
to, but what about the people who are barred from ever seeing their home or
family again? What about the people that live every day in fear of
destruction, demolition, and death in the open-air prison we call the Gaza
Strip? 

                                             **************************

So today, I ask the Israeli government to reassess their priorities and
security practices. I ask them to think critically about what the word
"threat" means and what/whom constitutes as one. I don't. My Arab and
Arab-American friends don't. A Palestinian 18-year-old visiting her
grandparents doesn't. In fact almost all Palestinians don't. Just as almost
all Americans, almost all French, German, Mexicans, Brazilians, Iranians,
and Moroccans don't. 

I also ask the US government to rethink their unequivocal support for Israel
in the wake of the crimes against humanity they are committing and the
unethical practices they are engaging in. I ask the US to think critically
about what democracy means to our country and if the practices of Israel
really deserve the label of "the gold standard for democracy in the Middle
East" that is so often attributed to them. 

Finally, I call on the young people of America and of the world to be the
change. We are the future and we have the power to change the systems that
do so many worse things than block an innocent American Jew from getting on
a flight to Israel. Support Palestine, support BDS, and support human rights
because none of us should ever be considered a threat again for what we look
like, what our name is, who our friends are, or where we have been. 

                                             **************************

My name is Rachel. But if my name was Ruhee, would you be reading this
story? If my name were Ruhee, would I even be able to tell it? 

I am sharing my story because we live in a world where not everyone can. I
am sharing my story because something needs to change. 

For me. 
But, more importantly, for the people who will never see their homes and
families again. In Palestine. And across the world.

Rachel Marandett is a Pomona College senior majoring in Religious Studies
with a concentration in global violence and a minor in Middle Eastern
Studies. She has studied in both Morocco and the Czech Republic to help
prepare for her thesis research on the Holocaust and Israeli-Palestinian
conflict as a Pomona College Humanities Studio Fellow.  

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