Following the recent airline attack on Dec. 25, 2009 by a Nigerian citizen, I began to wonder why the United States was so prone to such terrorist attacks of this method and if there were any techniques to prevent airline attacks from happening in the future. Obviously people would suggest tightening security and relying on the already ‘impressive’ (WINK!) Transportation Security Administration to keep its watchful gaze.

There is something else this nation can do to beef up security. There are other methods that countries around the globe are using to curb the supposed terrorist insurgency with airline security as a focal point.

For example, Israelification. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, such a word and method does exist. You’re probably wondering what such a locution could have to do with airport security. I did too, but with the help of Google and a little snooping in the policy section of Bird Library, I found exactly what I wasn’t looking for.

Israelification is an airline security method that Israel, of course, uses to track potential terrorists as they enter the airport to prevent them from doing any harm. The method is a three-step process that has proven to be successful in Israel since its last actual assault in 1972.

First, individuals pass through a car-screening process as they are asked, ‘How are you today’ and ‘Where are you coming from’? The answers to these questions are important so that the guard hears the vocal patterns of the traveler. Second, you arrive at the passport verification area as security personnel run through a list of questions, examining every answer and every physically visible emotion. Third, your luggage is checked in a bombproof area that can contain a blast to upwards of 100 kilos of plastic explosives. For those of you who feel like this is no different than most high-security airports, here’s the getter. The entire time you’re getting checked in, from car arrival to boarding, trained behavioral profilers are watching your every move, from the way you smile to the way you scratch your nose.

Now, I’m not familiar with your view, but consciously knowing that I am being profiled as I walk through one of the busiest airports in the Middle East doesn’t sit right with me. I get nervous simply trying to refill my glass of water in Ernie Davis Dining Center during the lunchtime peak. This definitely means I will receive further questioning if I go to Israel anytime soon.

With that in mind, this system of security pushes one to question the usage and ethicality of profiling. At Syracuse University, would it be ethical to profile a student entering the gates of this year’s Block Party? No. So what makes it OK for Israel to do it?

Well for one thing, every nearby country seems to disagree with its existence, so I guess it’s understandable to push the limits in that regard. I would hope our government doesn’t take up such security measures because in a nation comprised mostly of immigrants and racially diverse groups, problems are bound to spring forth. That takes into account that profiling is a method of discrimination, which the U.S. has laws against.

I do hope everyone keeps a lookout because there are talks in Washington on the usage of profiling in airport security. I don’t want to shake my finger at our government just yet, but just to be on the safe side I’ll start thinking of a witty protesting slogan for everyone.

John Sumpter is a junior international relations and Middle Eastern studies major. His column appears weekly and he can be reached at jfsumpte@syr.edu.

Published on February 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm