Israel's High Court shirking its duty on racial profiling

posted on: Mar 18, 2015

Nearly eight years ago the Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding the removal of ethnic identity as a component of threat assessment (“profiling”) of Israeli citizens in airport security checks, so that ethnic origin – Jewish or Arab – would no longer be a factor in determining a passenger’s risk profile.

The state did not explicitly admit to using ethnic identity as a criterion, but it did not deny its use either. Its main argument before the court was that technological improvements were being made and a new baggage screening system that was about to be introduced would reduce friction between passengers and security personnel. In other words, the ethnic component will not be eliminated, but because part of the process will no longer be carried out in front of passengers the feelings of discrimination and humiliation will be dulled. The court has been deliberating over the technological improvement since the petition was filed, in May 2007.

Over the years, the security checks at Israeli airports have justifiably become, in the eyes of Israel’s Arab population, a symbol of institutional discrimination and humiliation. The mere existence of such a criterion violates the norm in other countries, including Britain and the United States, that have experienced terror attacks and face terror threats, including ones from their own citizens and ones that target their airports.

Source: www.haaretz.com