Israel Airport Security

Maukka

Maukka

Member
Does anyone have any experience of carrying a video camera and a laptop as hand luggage through airport security in Israel?
I am asking this because my hotel web site carries a warning that any "electrical equipment may be taken away and only returned to you after the flight in your home country. Damage may occur.":shocked:

Would appreciate any advice.
Thanks.
Maukka
 
Well... if it is standard equipment and they check it out you will get it back.

Israel is a very sophisticated and modern country.

One solution would be to contact the nearest consulate or even the Israeli Embassy and get additional information and make prior arrangements as necessary.
 
Ive travelled with camera equipment through Tel-Aviv airport with my camera in my carryon baggage.

Getting into the country was no problem, leaving was a different story. I arrived 2 hours, instead of the recommended 3 hours early and paid dearly for it - I almost missed my flight. Thorough is an understatement of Israels airport security, and they werent letting me, my 3 cameras, 6 harddrives and various other camera gear.

My impression of the whole experience was they, like any other 1st world country, are accustomed to seeing professional camera equipment - but they have greater reason than most countries to make sure it is truly camera gear they are allowing on their planes and not anything dangerous.

Chances are youll be allowed to carry your gear onboard, but packing it in a Pelican case might not be a bad idea just in case you have to check it below.

Be prepared to prove your cameras work, replay footage you might have on tapes/P2 cards, connect harddrives to laptops and prove they work - also be ready to make a case that whatever you shot in country is not for profit (unless your on a business visa) and that its been in your possession (not in israeli camera operators) hands the whole time.

One other recommendation - depending on the nature of your camera use, try to get in touch with the Department of Tourism and ask for their help... I had a letter from the Director of Tourism requesting that any authority I deal with please do whatever they can to make my work in Israel go as smoothly as possible.

Id be happy to share anything else I know from working on my doc in Israel if you want to PM me in the future

best of luck, have fun
 
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Exactly, I have heard that things might get complicated when leaving the country,not when going there.

I will be traveling with a very small Sony A1. I'll pack micros etc. in a hard suitcase which I check in. But I carry the camera, tapes etc. in a soft Porta Brace, so I definitely don't wanna check it in, nor my laptop.
I guess I will just have to make sure I get to the airport in time, even if it means I have to get up at three in the morning!

Thanks again,
Maukka
P.S. Obviously Israel is a highly developed country, that was never the issue.
 
Israel has the most stringent security measures of any country. Arrive 3 hours (maybe even more) before your flight. Be prepared to prove everything works and what eveything does. They will swab and scan everything and they will separate you from your equipment for quite a bit of time so they can x-ray and scan it.

I went through this past summer. Spent 4 hours being interogated on my equipment and why I was in the country.

Oh that was just leaving the country, when I arrived it took me 5 hours just to leave the airport. A friend spent 9 hours. They are serious about their security.
 
gerard said:
also be ready to make a case that whatever you shot in country is not for profit (unless your on a business visa) and that its been in your possession (not in israeli camera operators) hands the whole time.
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A lot of Producers do expect to make money out of a documentary especially to cover the cost spent on it. A documentary should be exempt, right? I ask this because people make documentaries everywhere including Israel.
 
I have returned from Israel. Here is what happened.
Airport security was tight and I arrived about 3 hours before my flight and was not a bit too early. I had an early morning flight so I arrived at airport about 4 AM, and it was full of people.

But nobody asked to see my small Sony A1 camera or my laptop or any of the other gear I had in my suitcase or in my hand luggage. They just x-rayed everything twice. But anoyjer filmmaker had everything checked. Afterwards we asked why his gear was checked so thoroughly while mine was just x-rayed. They said that it was because his gear was in soft bags and they are more difficult to x-ray than hard cases. Our gear was sort of semiprofessional and rather small sized. Did not need to sign any documents.

www.traces.tv
 
Camera Expert said:
A lot of Producers do expect to make money out of a documentary especially to cover the cost spent on it. A documentary should be exempt, right? I ask this because people make documentaries everywhere including Israel.
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And just why should a documentary be treated any diifferently than any other film? The idea that the story you're telling is based on instead of being purely imaginary doesn't enter into it. Not suggesting anything approaching censorship of content but whether you're a news professional making a doco on the politics of the region or a fiction producer doing a remake of the Ten Commandments, your reason for being there is earning a living. Doco or not, you're there on business and the visa rules for business travelors ought to apply.
 
As an Israel based operator, doing lots of traveling I can say that there are no specific problems
with carrying equipment through Israel airport. You are not allowed to film in the airport, and if you are carrying shoulder mounted cameras you will need a carne document (camera passport)
if you are using small cameras - no problems at all.
 
I'd hate to say this, but the best advice I can give you to get the least amount of hassle in Israel is either have a buddy with an IDF service record or have friends who actually live there and are not on the side of PLO.

Asking this question is sort of like asking what kind of hassle would you have operating without a film permit in Langley VA or Chantilly VA.

With the most advanced urban combat and anti terrorism setups, anything you do, any area you visit, any phone call or other can trigger the search at the airport.
The country is rather physically small, everyone is connected and organized. One agency will pass your intel to the next, all the way to customs and gate.

So basically you're 100% guaranteed a frisk of all your gear if you went to film in Gaza, attempted to film Hamas etc.. etc.. etc..
 
Maukka said:
Thanks for sharing your experiences. Exactly, I have heard that things might get complicated when leaving the country,not when going there.

I will be traveling with a very small Sony A1. I'll pack micros etc. in a hard suitcase which I check in. But I carry the camera, tapes etc. in a soft Porta Brace, so I definitely don't wanna check it in, nor my laptop.
I guess I will just have to make sure I get to the airport in time, even if it means I have to get up at three in the morning!

Thanks again,
Maukka
P.S. Obviously Israel is a highly developed country, that was never the issue.
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Look at your passport, does it have visa stamps from other countries in the Middle East, some places in Africa?

Are you a journalist? Filming a documentary? (100% Guaranteed Mossad foolow on you.).

Are you going to come in contact with anyone "they" might consider fundamentalist, radical, extremist, member of any acronym organizations?
 
DJDecay said:
The country is rather physically small, everyone is connected and organized. One agency will pass your intel to the next, all the way to customs and gate.
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I can vouch for this. Last time I bought falafel in Be'er Sheva, the old lady working behind the counter kept glancing at a red telephone located near the deep fryer. When I asked her what it was, she ordered me to sample their carrot salad.

It is true that passport stamps from enemy countries will certainly raise an eyebrow. But with a small camera and straightforward answers, there should be no problem.
 
Guys chillout, we are friendly just not too civilised :)
I've been filming in PLO, filming Hamas, filming demonstrations on the fence, and I travel regulary. Maybe they treat me differently, but no problems at all, I just got back from muslim country and the only qustion I've been asked - Is this your tripod and are you the only tv crew on the plane.
Visa stamps from countries such as Afganistan, Pakistan, Syria, Gasa, Iraq, Iran, Aljere, maybe Lebanon can raise a brow but that's basicaly it. You better worry of our excessive contrast(sun) and fast dusks and downs as you can loose your light very fast. If you need any help in Israel don't hesitate to contact me. Cheers.
 
Maukka said:
Does anyone have any experience of carrying a video camera and a laptop as hand luggage through airport security in Israel?
I am asking this because my hotel web site carries a warning that any "electrical equipment may be taken away and only returned to you after the flight in your home country. Damage may occur.":shocked:

Would appreciate any advice.
Thanks.
Maukka
Click to expand...

Go with a chartered or private plane. Otherwise, consider not going, or shipping your equipment, and only take minimal luggage.
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
Go with a chartered or private plane. Otherwise, consider not going, or shipping your equipment, and only take minimal luggage.
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Your "advice" is baseless. An ENG operator who comes and goes has already stated that there are no problems. I fly in and out at least once a year (sometimes with my DVX) and have never had a problem. Perhaps you can provide specific details to back up your general claims?
 
Everything should be fine in Israel. I'm just stating obvious things that may "trigger" more scrutiny of your equipment and staff.

But have no illusions about the infrastructure Golda Meir put into play, it its also a human based infrastructure and humans make a mistake once or twice here or there, and even though a particular pleasant and uneventful experience is one thing, having the possibility for someone detain you, your equipment, your footage is very real.

A lot of red tape has been removed, due to the nature of things in that part of the world, but also it's a very huge tourist destination for many obvious reasons so a lot of "hassle" has also been removed to counterbalance.

The chances of that happening are probably slightly higher than - say in umm.. Denmark.

But yeah - I guess I went a little over the top :-).
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
Go with a chartered or private plane. Otherwise, consider not going, or shipping your equipment, and only take minimal luggage.
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For Israli customs it would make zero difference what type of plane your gear is traveling on, charter, cargo or commercial air-liner.

The biggest concern were "cam guns" and "cam bombs" that go with you on your person onto the plane - large ENG Ikegami cameras are a good place to hide a weapon.

Second concern is content of your footage that may reveal classified information, contain identities of certain parties etc... when you leave the country, your outside of the jurisdiction of a similar act like the Official Secrets Act. in the U.K. - Accidental Exposure to Classified Materials - U.S.

Third concern that plays like an "old standard" is if you have a stamp from say... Jordan in your passport, you may be, unknown to you (naive) used as a tool for transport of instructions and data. - They will go through your digital photos/video, ask you questions etc.. and have the time to do so. - And unlike the U.S. - Profiling is allowed.

Oh yeah.. One more piece of advice - Don't Forget, the country runs on 220 Volts not 110.

On the flip-side, there are thousands of different tourists and Pro-Sumer Vidographers filming the holy lands that travel to Jerusalem from all over the world, that hold different political and religious beliefs. - But there have been journalists detained by the Mossad in the past (use google), and there have been very loud incidents of classified information between US and Israel changing hands through journalists (in both directions).
 
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Jordan_Sopinsky said:
Your "advice" is baseless. An ENG operator who comes and goes has already stated that there are no problems. I fly in and out at least once a year (sometimes with my DVX) and have never had a problem. Perhaps you can provide specific details to back up your general claims?
Click to expand...

I refuse travel to Israel. The Wife shot a wedding there three years ago, and she traveled with the bridal company in their private plane to avoid any problems that occur when one travels via commerical means. This was for two reasons, one it was an opportunity to shoot everyone during the trip, and two, pretty much guarenteed there would be no such hassels.
 
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