Israel's Marking System

"At that moment I decided I should stage a teach-in at Ben Gurion airport’s check-in line. If these tourists don’t know how Palestinians are treated then they will get a very brief lecture. Basically, it’s racial profiling, I say, by using a marking system with barcodes and all – it looks fucking sophisticated, but it’s really all systematic… and racist. You will know this because of their machinated reactions. Actually, sometimes I wonder if the head of airport security is a human. But that’s another story. Let’s start with the marking system. Numbers go from 1 to 6. You got a 3 and that means you are neutral, most probably you are a religious tourist but in this case you are a U.S. soldier who just came from Iraq. Actually, said the soldier, I am based in Georgia. Ah…well, I guess that is why you got a 3 because if you were in Iraq and the girl saw that on your passport you wouldn’t get a 3, you would probably get a 5. A “3” is safe, you won’t get questioned and your bags won’t get cavity searched and torn apart. You don’t want a 4, 5 or 6. What number do you get? he asks. I usually get a 5 or a 6 – which entails a puerile interrogation, getting poked at with a piece of cotton on a stick while taking your clothes off then on, and what I like to call V.I.P. treatment: a ‘shadow’, which is someone who has to walk you to your gate." (thanks Sousan)