My trip to Israel took at least 24 hours, all told. I had a pretty big scare at the Newark airport with El Al security. Here is a journal entry I wrote about that experience.
Monday, Jan 2
The flight out of Houston was uneventful. No problems at all. I got to Newark and had to collect my bag and find the El Al counter. Once I got to the El Al ticket area, I was told to wait with the other members of the group who were waiting. We ended up waiting for at least an hour for the remaining members, some of whom were cutting it close with their flight plans. I chatted with some of the other people there, including Terrance. After a while, El Al decided that they should go ahead and begin security checks on the group, despite the missing members. They first asked if anyone in the group knew 5 or more others in the group. Thankfully, one guy (Rob) is an assistant at Austin Graduate and met this requirement.
Unfortunately, the only person on the trip who knows me is Terrance, and he has only known me for about 9 months. The first interview I had was with a young woman who was obviously being trained and a young man who was her trainer. They traded off asking me questions about myself and the trip, speaking to each other in Hebrew periodically. The questions they asked were pointed and quickly brought out that I am Torah-observant. I told them that I have been in the process of converting for about three years. The guy asked me what holidays I celebrated. I first said Yom Kippur, and he asked me how I celebrate it. He did the same for Shabbat.
So, these two went and spoke to some higher-ups about me, and I was asked other questions by those people and many of the same questions. They asked if I know anyone in Israel, and I said "Yes". They also asked me many times if I planned to return with the group or if I would be extending my stay.
I began to see that they were concerned that I was using the archaeological tour as a platform for more nefarious schemes. I finally got bumped up to the director of El Al security, who asked me the same questions again. I told him that I have a wife and child at home and am not looking to stay in Israel beyond the tour schedule. I guess they finally decided I was not too much of a risk to keep me off the plane, but they were still wanting to keep an eye on me. I was allowed to check my bag after they tagged it and my Israeli friend's gift for further searching, and I was told to take my carry-on bags to a special screening room by the gate. I did so and was told to come back at 2:00. When I returned they had me go through a metal detector again and escorted me to a seat by the gate counter, surrounded by security guards and employees. I was told that I would be placed on the plane first. At one point I heard my name called on the intercom, and I heard more people saying my name and talking in Hebrew. The security guy next to me said that they just liked saying my name. I still wonder what that was all about....
The flight has been okay so far. I have not slept much. It is hard to get comfortable in the cramped space. Dinner was amazing and thoroughly needed. I had not had any food since breakfast, and I really enjoyed the warm food. We had chicken and rice, fresh bread and humus, tomato and lightly pickled cucumber, and a piece of brownie/cake for dessert. Not the type of food I expected.
We are just off the British isles, and it is 3:48 in Israel. Five more hours to go.
Other than that fun experience, my flight was pretty uneventful. I enjoyed having movies available on the plane, though I must say that the selection and viewing options were much better on the Northwest plane I rode to Norway. The food, as I mentioned above, was very good on the flight. We were actually given metal utensils for eating, too. I guess the tough security pretty much guarantees that no one is going to try to stab a stewardess with a spoon...
