No, James. If anything, then you might find that in TLV (on your way back) they don't even bother with some of the things that they do check for in the states, such as that rule about liquids in 100ml containers or asking you to remove your shoes.

If you're flying El Al, you will be politely but thoroughly interviewed before boarding the plane, and your luggage might be searched more thoroughly than you're used to. Nothing more than that.

If you're flying with another airline into Israel, even that won't be the case.

When flying back, you can expect to again undergo this interview (whether you packed alone, whether someone gave you anything to bring, where you've been, that sort of thing) and again they might scan and/or search your luggage.

Harel Cain
Wikimania 2011 local team

On Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 22:19, James Hare <messedrocker@gmail.com> wrote:

On Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 3:10 PM, Deryck Chan <deryckchan@gmail.com> wrote:
> A bit more to add about passport stamping (mainly for those holding European
> / north American passports): an English girl (a close friend of mine in
> Cambridge) who was in Israel last year told me that although the Israeli
> border control advertises the facility to have a separate piece of paper
> rather than your passport stamped, in practice they [almost?] always refuse
> that and insist to stamp onto your passport, especially if you're a white
> person from a Western country [apparently especially if you're a young woman
> as well]. No worries though, I'm sure it's easy enough for someone from a
> Western country to apply for a new passport prematurely!
>
> She's in Israel again this summer, and other than sternly denying the
> possibility to not have my passport stamped, is optimistic: "Basically I
> don't actually think, having thought about it, that there's anything to say!
> Just be prepared for a long wait, and for intensive searches (they took
> everything out of my bag, both ways), and obviously be very careful about
> carrying anything metal/liquid in your hand luggage. Make sure you know what
> you'd say to 'why are you going to Israel?'."

Anything I should know specifically as a U.S. citizen? (For what it's
worth, it doesn't bother me if they stamp my passport because my
passport expires in June 2012 anyway.)

Anything that I should be wary about bringing into Israel that I'd
normally take for granted as fine in the U.S.?

>
> Deryck
>
> On 30 July 2011 02:54, Deryck Chan <deryckchan@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks Harel :)
>>
>> Background about the Chelsea incident:
>> http://www.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/07/28/football.chelsea.malaysia.benayoun.abuse/
>>
>> On 30 July 2011 02:51, Harel Cain <harel.cain@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Deryck, you should be fine. There are many Israelis (some colleagues of
>>> mine, for example) who're flying to Malaysia on business with foreign
>>> passports. I don't even know what the Chelsea incident is, it didn't make
>>> any headlines over here.
>>>
>>> The security questioning is meant to guarantee the safety of air travel
>>> with El Al, which as you may know has been the target of terror back in the
>>> 1970s (and since, to a decreased degree), in other words - it's done so you
>>> can fly safely. El Al is considered the world's most secure airline exactly
>>> because of its unique methods which are based on interviewing the passengers
>>> to detect suspicious passengers, instead of forcing 85 year old grannies to
>>> remove their shoes (TSA method...), which have been in place long before the
>>> 9/11 attacks, for example.
>>>
>>> Because you clearly have no terrorist intentions, there's nothing to
>>> worry about. Just be very patient, answer the questions frankly and openly,
>>> and they'll let you in. They won't fly out without you :)
>>>
>>>
>>> Harel Cain
>>> Wikimania 2011 local team
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 21:43, Deryck Chan <deryckchan@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I'm flying from Hong Kong to Tel Aviv on an El Al flight, holding a
>>>> British passport with a Malaysian stamp from this January (along with a few
>>>> other stamps from USA, Taiwan and Japan from previous years).
>>>>
>>>> I never thought Malaysia would be an issue other than some questioning
>>>> by the El Al and Israeli border control, until the Chelsea incident this
>>>> week made Israel-Malaysia relations somewhat tenser than usual, as I've
>>>> heard.
>>>>
>>>> I doubt that in my case the "formal" letter would make any difference:
>>>> the automated email has our name and personal itinerary printed on it, so if
>>>> that doesn't get me through, I doubt any other paperwork from WMIL will...
>>>>
>>>> On 30 July 2011 02:29, Harel Cain <harel.cain@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Unless you come from a potentially problematic country (for example one
>>>>> which doesn't have diplomatic relations with Israel, or just one which is
>>>>> rather exotic for incoming tourism), the printout of the automated mail you
>>>>> got from us should be fine, and even that shouldn't be necessary. It's just
>>>>> something you can show during the security questioning, which normally
>>>>> occurs only on El Al flights.
>>>>>
>>>>> We prepared personalized "formal" letters of invitation upon request
>>>>> for quite a few people. However I'm rather disinclined to prepare more and
>>>>> more of them. If you are from the USA or the EU or other Western countries I
>>>>> really think they're not necessary.
>>>>>
>>>>> These things are really a matter of chance - I heard the one attendee
>>>>> from Czech Republic had a few problems (everything is fine, nothing
>>>>> serious), while the South Americans went through everything without any
>>>>> problem at all.
>>>>>
>>>>> Please seriously consider if you really need them before asking for
>>>>> such personalized letters (requests please send to one of the OTRS queues).
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Harel Cain
>>>>> Wikimania 2011 local team
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 20:08, Deryck Chan <deryckchan@gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ...and how many copies of each!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Jul 30, 2011 1:07 AM, "Laura James" <ljames@wikimedia.org> wrote:
>>>>>> > Hi, thanks for the great advice - yes, please do let us know which
>>>>>> > document
>>>>>> > would be the most helpful to print. And any other tips! :-)
>>>>>> > Thank you,
>>>>>> > Laura
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> > On Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 8:17 AM, Kim Bruning <kim@bruning.xs4all.nl>
>>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>> >
>>>>>> >> On Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 07:49:31PM +0900, KIZU Naoko wrote:
>>>>>> >> > Hi from Tel Aviv suburb.
>>>>>> >> >
>>>>>> >> > I strongly recommend to follow Manuel. Also the letter from the
>>>>>> >> > organizing team may help.
>>>>>> >> >
>>>>>> >> > At security check in AMS I met difficulty , since then I left all
>>>>>> >> > the
>>>>>> >> > copy of registration team and also had no copy.
>>>>>> >>
>>>>>> >> > document on my registration to the confenrence or a document from
>>>>>> >> > WMF.
>>>>>> >>
>>>>>> >> Hmm, good point, what document would be handiest to print out?
>>>>>> >> (I'll check
>>>>>> >> my mail)
>>>>>> >>
>>>>>> >> --
>>>>>> >> [Non-pgp mail clients may show pgp-signature as attachment]
>>>>>> >> gpg (www.gnupg.org) Fingerprint for key FEF9DD72
>>>>>> >> 5ED6 E215 73EE AD84 E03A 01C5 94AC 7B0E FEF9 DD72
>>>>>> >>
>>>>>> >> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> >> Wikimania-l mailing list
>>>>>> >> Wikimania-l@lists.wikimedia.org
>>>>>> >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>>>>>> >>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur.
>>>
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>
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