THE HONOR SYSTEM FAILS

  • Share
  • Read Later
Despite the obvious threat to Israeli personalities and installations abroad, adds Jerusalem bureau chief Lisa Beyer, security for top officials in Israel itself is remarkably casual. "When Yitzhak Shamir was prime minister before Rabin, he used to take a morning walk around Jerusalem accompanied by just one security guard. Shortly after he left office, I ran into him on the street in Tel Aviv, walking with a companion like any ordinary citizen. Visitors to the prime minister's office have to pass through a metal detector, but once inside they are asked casually, 'Do you have a weapon?' Apparently, the honor system is in force. It had been a fundamental assumption among Israelis that they were safe among one another. Which was the entire point, after all, of the founding of a Jewish state."