Israel’s racist airport security routinely humiliates Arab women. I know
Earlier this month, Haaretz reported that three female Palestinian citizens of Israel were suing El Al and Arkia airlines for the humiliating treatment they received before boarding a flight in Belgrade back to Tel Aviv.
One of the plaintiffs told Haaretz that they were taken aside from the group that they were with and subject to intrusive body strip searches because “we are Arab and also because we are women”.
The racist discrimination faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel has been well-documented over the years, but the gendered nature of this racism is sometimes overlooked.
Gender proves to be an effective tool in which to violate and humiliate people and, more often than not in conflict and war, women are the ones that fall victim.
What happened to the women suing the airlines reminds me of a similar incident that happened to me three years ago.
