The Foreign Press Association‘s up in arms.
Security guards asked an Al-Jazeera cameraman to remove his pants before an invitation-only interview with President Shimon Peres. The Jerusalem Post has more details.
Asking someone for an ID and making him pass through a metal detector is a reasonable security precaution for a head state. But a reporter (or blogger, I might add) with government-issued press credentials and a government-issued invitation simply shouldn’t be made to undress unless there’s evidence of a specific threat.
Access is a two-way street. Just as journalists need access to government officials for information, government officials need access to the journalists to get their message out too.
This humiliating strip search is not an isolated incident, as we’ve already learned from Sara Hussein and Simri Diab. It won’t be long till reporters start boycotting government press activities.
Only in Israel, right?
© Divuach Ne’eman R”A, 2025
