Joe’s May 2008 Trek Thru Israel, Eastern Europe & The Balkans En Route to Auschwitz Along the Same Rail Transport Lines my Ancestors Rode to the Death Camps

Flights are numerous-LAX/Boston/London/Rome/Tel Aviv.  Enough Already!London Heathrow New Terminal 5 is an impressive shopping mall.  Multiple floors of shopping mall from Prada to Ferrari Automobile to Cuban Cigar stores and everything in-between.  Had a wonderful Scottish breakfast at 8am of Salmon, eggs and McMurphys stout on tap.  Six hour layover trying to stay awake.  Arrived in Rome and picked up my checked luggage which had to be rechecked to El Al as they are probably the only airline that does not trust any one else’s security……for good reason.Checking into El Al means you go through their multi step security process. The Mayor of Los Angeles is actually hiring the Israeli Security Agency as a consultant to beef up the security of LAX.  It will be interesting to see the changes next year.
I walke through the army of para military guards in the dedicated wing for El Al Checkin.  They sent me to an atractive young girl for pre-check in interview.  Yes, and interview in line.  First thing is the psychology security profile assesment with the pretty Psychologist who is looking for a panic attack.  Why are you going to Israel?  Who are you visiting?  Have you been there before?  What street are you going to?  Do you speak Hebrew?  Why not?   When were you last here?  IF you are Jewish, were you Bar Mitzvahed?  How old were you on your Bar Mitzvah?   On and on and on.  Then luggage inspection which is full and comprehensive opening of all the care packages and the linings of every piece of luggage.  You get annoyed, but you can’t get mad at them as you know why they are doing this.  It is a real threat everyday.  But El Al has never been jacked or bombed because of the Israeli model of security.  Then on to recheck of my bags.  Because of the Heathrow Terminal 5 chaos, I had carried on my suitcase through all three prior flights and I only checked the big duffel bag with the Chanukah Quanza gifts for the boys.  But this is El Al.  No, my Tumi cannot go on the plane “But I have carried it on every international flight for ten years.  It fits in the overhead.”  No, it is too big and too heavy.  Not on El Al means don’t screw with us or you can go back and talk to our soldiers with their big machine guns.  Arguments about logic mean nothing with these people.   But it was nice not to carry on other than my tote briefcase.  Oh to legitimize and give in.  Arrived in Tel Aviv airport at 2:30am. 

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