Get ready to get naked!

After the attempted plane bombing by a Nigerian Al-Qaeda agent (sent from Yemen, apparently) on Christmas 2009, and the revelation that there was a similar attempt in Somalia not too long before, things are changing.

We already have updated security in airports which mainly means more hassle and more undertrained guards. We also have tougher inflight regulations, including U.S. bound flights requiring no-one standing up during the last hour of flight. That puts terror in my bladder just thinking about it. OK, so now terrorists just won't wait for the last hour, and will attempt to blow up planes earlier during the journey.

But worst of all - and a huge violation of privacy, comes millimetre wave body scanning. Right now it's only being used on all Dutch flights to the US leaving from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport - but you can rest assured that it will spread to many more airports in the near future, including ones on U.S. soil. Right now it is in several U.S. airports, but is optional and experimental.

This form of scanning requires passengers to climb into a big glass booth and raise their hands in the air. A live image of the passenger appears on the screen and an airport worker looks at a picture of you without your clothes. Yes, just like the X-Ray glasses advertised in the back of old comic books - using this technology, you can see people naked.

This technology was first announced a few years ago, and I remember comments in the press about how it was an interesting idea, but people would never be comfortable with it, and it seemed a little too extreme. Well, not anymore.

Although the manufacturers claim that there is no way to save the image, and it's gone once the next passenger enters, I find this hard to believe. I'm sure some clever airport worker will manage to grab nude millimetre wave images of celebrities and sell them for a ton of cash. You might even find a nude picture of yourself online. I mean a new one, not the drunken shot from your office party last year.

Besides, if there really was no way to save an image from the scanning machine, how did the manufacturer release demo pictures to the press? The image to the right demonstrates the technology. There are a bunch more online.

I understand the need for increased security against terrorist threats - but rather than rush into using new technology, we need to review privacy issues and ensure that the systems being used to protect us cannot potentially betray our trust as well.

UPDATE:

A National Post article has made the same 'celebrity photo' prediction I made above, and also says that the US might be considering deploying the machines at all airports and making them mandatory.

When will Israeli politics grow up?

This isn't a nuanced policy review, nor is it a deep existential exploration. Just a random question I'm throwing into the ether at 2 in the morning; When will Israeli politics grow up?

The nipping and backbiting between Members of Knesset is ridiculously candid and over the top, constantly making appearances in the press. It's embarrassing. In the most recent snap, we have several MKs leaving the Kadima party, and one of them, Eli Afalo, has a big bone to pick with Kadima leader Tzipi Livni. The quote from Jerusalem Post:

"You betrayed me and I don't believe in you anymore," Aflalo told Livni in the heated conversation.

Really, must you be that dramatic Aflalo? And if you must, does it really have to show up in the paper instead of being contained in a closed door conversation between adults?

I guess not - politics is theatre after all. I completely understand that there will be heated inner-party tensions, but I guess Aflalo's line above just seemed more suitable for a soap opera than an MK quotation.

National Security Advisor Uzi Arad recently put his foot in his mouth in speaking about one of his colleagues, but he had the good sense to apologize and clarify his remarks after they leaked out.

I get the feeling that David Ben-Gurion didn't waste his time putting people down. He had better things to do.

That's a First

Last night was really interesting. I was staying in the Old City in Jerusalem for Shabbat (and the first night of Chanukah). After a delicious dinner with a lovely family, I was ready to head to bed so I could be up bright and early to daven (pray) at the Kotel (Western Wall). I had befriended a big burly 45-year old Puerto Rican Jew that night. He had become religious a few years back, and now lives in the Old City working at a Jewish hostel. He had amazing stories to tell as a former sailor in the US Merchant Marines, which he shared with me in between spitting chewing tobacco all over the place and telling me to join the IDF. "Even if your job is to pick up garbage, you should join!"

On the way to my freezing cold bed, my Puerto Rican pal stopped me and asked "Want to get some beer with me?", and being the gentleman that I am, I could not let him drink alone. I figured he must have a fridge stashed somewhere with a few beers in it.

"Sure. Where are we headed?"

"We're going to a bar. Come with me" the former sailor answered.

I was quite perplexed. It was Shabbat (the Sabbath), so we couldn't get beer anywhere for two excellent reasons. 1) It is forbidden to carry/use money on Shabbat. and 2.) No bars in the area would be open on a Friday night.

It turns out that reasons 1 and 2 would not be a problem.

"It's no problem" my beer thirsty buddy replied. "I know an Arab guy who runs a bar here, and he lets me pay him after Shabbat".

So that's how I wound up hanging out in an Arab bar on a Friday night with a sailor, a bunch of Swedes, and some Israeli Arabs. I'm guessing they were Christian - otherwise the whole alcohol thing could be a problem for them.

We walked into this Old City watering hole, and everyone stopped and looked us over - but only for a split second. Sailor man's tzizit (fringed Jewish garment) were hanging out of his winter coat, and our kippahs (skull caps) were sitting on our heads. After a collective shrug, it was business as usual. Saying hi to a few of his pals, my new friend ordered up two Heinekens, and the folks at the bar said 'Cheers' as they handed us our bottles. "Cheers!" we replied. After grabbing a seat in a dim alley outside, we raised our glasses and said "L'Chaim" and downed the cold brew.

Then the owner showed up. After a quick introduction and handshake, he went inside his establishment. "He hates Jews" my beer-mate informed me.

"Really? How do you know?" I asked, clearly surprised. "He seemed like a nice guy."

"I've been around, my friend. I'm almost double your age. I know these things. I'm not blind."

And then we had a second round, had the requisite conversation about life, the cosmos, and politics, and my amigo informed me that the beers were his Chanukah gift to me.

Gracias Amigo.

Afterword:

Some Halacha, according to Rabbi Haber at TorahLab:

With certain conditions it is permissible to buy Shabbos food on credit from a store on Shabbos itself:
a) The food is for Shabbos
b) The words buy or sell are not used
c)One may not say “I’ll pay you after Shabbos”, rather he must say “we will make arrangements after Shabbos”
d) One may not order by weight or price

Mother-Son Moving Company

Nothing gives a mother strength like a child in danger!

Israel's Future: Nathan Responds

In response to my previous message, Nathan responded with this insightful collection of observations regarding the Israel/Palestinian conflict. It's jam packed with off the cuff analysis of the current situation and prospects for the future. Without further ado, here's Nathan:

Ok, first I'll describe my view of what's behind the whole conflict. As far as I'm concerned, Israel and the Palestinian territories are the pawns of a great geopolitical chess game being played between the US and the Arab/Muslim powers. The US supports Israel because it sees it as a foil against Arab nationalists and Islamic fundamentalists. After all, if the region is divided, the US can use its market power to get relatively cheap oil. The Arab/Muslim powers, on the other hand, hate Israel as a symbol of Western colonialism. They see it as the only thing that keeps their societies divided and unable to resist US hegemony. A single Arab state or Caliphate would be able to sell oil to America on its terms. Therefore, Israel/Palestine is a proxy war fueled by energy and a clash of civilizations. Europeans are ambiguous about Israel precisely because they are ambiguous about America - and because they are less dependent on Middle Eastern oil, but have larger domestic Muslim populations. Anyway, the US has an incentive to promote peace (without asking too much of Israel), while the Arab/Muslim powers see no reason to recognize Israel's existence at all (except for Egypt and Jordan, which lack oil, and have been bribed by the Americans to accept Israel). That said, Israel is as much a cultural symbol as an economic fulcrum to both sides.

Therefore, I'm pretty pessimistic about the prospects for two states, let alone a two state "solution". Hamas doesn't even recognize Israel's right to exist, and even the PA insists on the "right of return", and those demands are non-starters for Israel. At the same time, I have my doubts that Israel could summon the political will to relocate hundreds of thousands of West Bank settlers for the sake of a viable Palestinian state, even if the Palestinians were willing to give up the right of return. I think that Israel is probably in too deep in the West Bank to ever voluntarily get out, especially since the Gaza withdrawal discredited "land for peace" among Israelis. Therefore, I don't think that two states are likely any time soon (more on that later), let alone three states.

You're right that demographics is a serious problem for Israel. A single state encompassing Greater Israel wouldn't work either, as it would soon have an Arab majority. I don't think that Israeli Jews would be secure under an Arab majority state, even if it was explicitly binational and the constitution prescribed a lot of minority rights to the Jewish community. As you mentioned, the proportion of Israeli Arabs is increasing in Israel proper, and this could gradually weaken Israel's willingness and ability to defend itself as a Jewish state. Same with the increasing proportion of Haredim, who also don't serve in the army and often depend upon welfare. Finally, Israel is also gradually re-desertifying thanks to climate change and population pressures, which could fuel the conflict by increasing pressure on water resources. Basically, the way things are going, the prognosis does not look good for Israel.

The only way out of this that I see is the end of the disastrous energy dependence/conflict relationship between the US and the Arab/Muslim world. When oil money is no longer at stake, then armies will take much less interest in the region. The funding that Hamas and the PA get from Arab/Muslim oil money will cut off, making it a lot harder to maintain a rejectionist position. Also, Israel would be pushed towards compromise as the US takes less interest in its fate. But another thing would need to happen before there is peace: a Muslim Enlightenment. Basically, Muslims have to stop fantasizing about a return to the glory days of empire, and accepts a least some aspects of liberalism - including a repudiation of anti-semitism. But I think that's much more likely to happen after the oil money stops flowing in, and Muslim societies are forced to confront the weaknesses of their current cultural paradigm, since they will no longer be able to blame everything on the West. Maybe then there will be two states.

But I think that it's just as likely that it will all end in disaster. There's a lot of ways in which things could get worse: Iran could get nuclear weapons, one of the Arab states or Pakistan could fall to Islamic fundamentalists, or the West Bank could be taken over by Hamas. I could easily see it unfolding this way: some lunatic terrorist bombs a major religious site, resulting in calls for blood and a rapidly escalating spiral of violence that eventually results in a war between the US and the Arab/Islamic powers, possibly involving nuclear weapons. That could be the end of Israel as we know it.

Will that happen? I think it depends on how fast we can make an "energy transition" away from Middle Eastern oil and gas and towards renewable resources (that's equally important for environmental and geopolitical reasons). It will also depend upon countering the influence of religious fanatics, primarily Muslim ones but also including Jews and Christians. But sadly, I'd give it more than 50-50 odds that things go wrong.

Sorry to be such a downer, but that's just what I think. I don't know if this is really a Canadian perspective, because I'm basing a lot of my info on the impressions I got from the last time I was in Israel (summer '08). Let me know what you think.

Nathan