Testimony of Walid Khutba, resident of `Arabah

I have been employed for four years as an engineer in Camtek, a hi-tech firm based in Migdal Ha’emek. As part of our work, some of the engineers are sent abroad to work on various projects and to take part in training courses on aspects relating to our work.

At the end of 2005, around Christmas, the company sent me to the United States. I flew with El-Al. On the way back from the United States to Israel, I arrived at JFK Airport in New York in the afternoon, although my flight was only due to depart at 10:00 pm. I happened to arrive early because I had traveled from another state in the US. At about 5:00 pm I went to the line for El-Al passengers and met Israeli security guards working for the company. I was the first person in line. The guards asked for my passport. I gave it to them and waited at the side. In the meantime, other passengers in the same line who were due to board the same flight went forward without being delayed by the El-Al staff. I waited for about forty five minutes before someone came up to me.

The security guards asked me whether I had any baggage apart from the hand baggage I had with me. I replied that I did, and they said that they needed to inspect it. They also took my hand baggage and told me that I could not take the bag with me onto the plane.

The security guards took me into the “Open Space,” a mobile, folding facility in the form of a cube with a window that does not enable one to see what is happening. I waited there and they put a guard by the curtain, but no-one came to me. I asked why they were delaying me, and the guard said: “Do you want to get home? Then wait. If you don’t want to, take your cases and go to another airline, we are following the procedures.” After a while, a young man came up to me with my hand baggage. He took out a toy gun I had bought for my son at the duty free shop and told me that I could not take this on the plane, and they would send the toy to me along with my suitcases later, and I would receive it all in Israel.

I told the security guards that a Jewish Israeli citizen who was due to board the same El-Al plane had bought the same toy gun but had boarded the plane without delay. I asked why they were delaying me. The reply was: “That’s our business, not yours. It isn’t the same thing.” I showed them the receipt for the purchase of the toy gun in the duty free shop, but they responded dismissively. I told them that I had been sent to the United States by Camtek and gave them telephone numbers to confirm this with senior executives in the company in order to avoid this treatment. They treated me dismissively and did not accept my suggestion.

After waiting for about an hour while they inspected the toy, one of them came up to me and said that they had decided to confiscate the “gun.” They told me that I could not take it with me. Eventually I said that if the toy was the problem, and that was why they were delaying me, they could take it and keep it – I just wanted to get on the plane.

Then they told me to remove my jacket, shoes, and belt which they took for inspection outside the curtain. They also told me to place my wallet and mobile phone on the table. Then they began to examine my whole body with the scanner device. Suddenly the man who was inspecting me said that he wanted to check that the device was working. He said, “I’ve got a feeling this isn’t working properly.” He said this in an ironic tone, as if he had expected the machine to beep when he checked me. They brought a new machine and he checked my whole body; once again, it didn’t beep.

He went on checking me and began to feel my shirt and pants, arms and legs, and even my intimate parts. I felt humiliated and helpless.

Then they brought another device that presumably detects suspicious substances and began to check my wallet and mobile phone. They began to take everything out of my wallet, including private and personal items. One of them told me again: “These are our instructions. If you’re not happy, use another airline.” He inspected everything and even took out a photograph of my son and told me he wanted to inspect it. I got angry and told him I would not let him inspect it – why should he want to inspect a photograph of my son? He replied that there could be dangerous substances or a “micro-bomb” in it. I insisted that he should not search the photograph. He turned to his superior and told her that I “wasn’t cooperating.” He added, “We need to keep an eye on him.” Eventually they decided not to inspect the photograph.

Then they brought back my shoes, belt, and jacket and told me that I would receive my suitcases and hand baggage at Ben Gurion Airport – they would not be sent on the plane with me. The manager came up to me and said, “Don’t move.” I waited fifteen minutes, then she came back and said, “If you want we will bring you some water. You may not go to the duty free shop.” A security guard who accompanied me in the passenger waiting area said firmly, “You must not talk to anyone. You cannot buy anything.” It was 8:00 pm New York time, and the flight was due to depart at 10:00 pm – I still had two hours to wait.

While I was waiting, I got into an argument with one of the security guards. He said to me, “All that matters to you is to get home alright.” I replied, “How can you say ‘alright’ after this humiliation?” I told him that I felt that I had only been put through this humiliation because my name is Walid and I am Arab. From the time I entered the El-Al inspection track until the plane took off I was delayed for five hours – from 5:00 pm in the afternoon until 10:00 pm at night.

When I returned to Israel, I went to get my suitcases at the airport and went home. When I opened the suitcases at home, I found that they had overturned everything. Nothing was in its place. My work file, which included work papers and receipts for expenses, was in total disarray – everything was in one heap. They didn’t bother to put anything back where it belonged. My clothes were in a mess. My large suitcase, containing my personal belongings, was in a total mess. They had opened perfume and toothpaste and not bothered to close them, and they had spilled over the clothes.

I was very angry at the humiliating treatment, the lack of respect, and the denigration during and after the search. The other passengers on the flight were not delayed and did not go through this series of humiliations before boarding the flight. Jews go through, and Arabs are held and delayed. 350 passengers got on the plane, and no-one stopped them – they only stopped me. Why? Its pure racism.