Thoughts from Ben Gurion

Well, the trip’s over (for me, at least; Mike’s out here for at least another day,) and I’m wasting a few minutes waiting at Ben Gurion International Airport, by posting a few things that have occurred to me while I’ve been here.

• I don’t care, what anyone says - in the post 9/11, post 7/7 world, the UK is one of the most stupidly paranoid nations I’ve been to. I’m a British national, but getting out of Heathrow was unbelievably painful - I had to throw away all my toiletries in case they were some form of highly advance chemical explosive, I was subjected to a full body x-ray and frisked by a not so friendly security guard. Getting onto a plane here in Israel, by comparison, was no problem. They weren’t lax or anything, just sensible and efficient. Which is pretty much the exact opposite of the security process in the UK.
• I wonder if it’s a standard check they do; when the group of us flying out were talking to the girl at the security point she waited until I was looking at one of my fellow flyers and then asked, “William?” When I looked round at her she held up my passport as though verifying the picture. Personally, I think it was more likely a test to see how I reacted to hearing my name. I bet people respond differently to their own name than to one they’re pretending is theirs, and I bet you can be trained to recognize the difference.
• Just before sitting down to read this, I went to a coffee place to grab a drink, and the girl serving me was clearly a goth; dreads, black stockings, New-Rocks (yes, at work,) and it struck me that she’s the first goth/metaler/alternitive-type of any kind I’ve seen in Israel, either time I’ve been here. I wonder if that’s just a difference between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, or if it’s just extremely rare here.
• Relatedly, why is it every airport I’ve ever been to seems to be populated by incredibly beautiful women, but no matter what class you sit in on the plane, you’re always next to a middle aged business-man or an elderly couple going on holiday to “the homeland”? Seriously, what’s that about?