Call it a postcard from Putin, if you will: The account below was posted by Gil Yardeni, one of my favourite Israeli poets and a Hebrew University biology major, who happened to be passing by the visiting Russian president’s convoy in Jerusalem, a few hours ago. The weirdest thing about the whole affair is that leaving out the odd demonstration here and there, Gil can hardly be even considered an activist, much less a high-profile one. She doesn’t organise protests, she’s not member of any movement or party, and does not work for a human rights NGO. That the secret service (whatever branch that was) would have so much information available on her, and would be happy to flaunt it on the preposterous pretext of crossing the street in proximity to Putin’s convoy, is nauseating. Here goes:
I was coming back from Tel Aviv thinking of all the things I like about Jerusalem. I fell asleep on the bus, and took the no.32 from the central bus station. It was held on Agrippas Street for 25 minutes. Then, when we got to Gaza Street, it turned out it was blocked. The passengers started a ruckus and the irate driver began driving around, looking for alternative route. He went up Jabotinsky, but the roundabout by President House was blocked. I asked to get off the bus and continued on foot.
It was hot, and late, and I have an exam on Wednedsday, so I was in a rush. I was walking quickly and when the VIP police convoy was driving by, I saw there are some gaps between them and crossed the road. I tried calling my boyfriend but my battery died, the Android rebooted itself, and I was trying to revive it as I walked.
On Harlap Street I was stopped by a man in a buttoned shirt. I thought at first he was a heckler, because he was speaking very slowly, but then he showed me a card and said I was detained. He asked for an ID card and requested that I show him what I have in my backpack and my binder – a Mearshemier article, a Gilfin article and my score sheet. “Why are you studying international relations,” he asked, and I started explaining it was an introductory course before I realised he knew what I was studying. He asked about who my boyfriend is and where he lives, where I work and the phone number at my workplace, he asked me dozens of questions and asked me to describe to him everything I did today, everyone I saw in Tel Aviv, what they told me and on what route I was walking home, whether I have bus tickets to show him, everything.
And I knew that while with some questions he cooly waited for my replies, in some he already knew the answers. At first I was answering everything, thinking it’s no big deal and he’ll soon let me go, because I didn’t do anything. Half an hour into it I was already crying a bit and asking for water, which he said he didn’t have. When he asked twice where I was working in 2007 and I realised I was giving the wrong answer, he made two phone calls and told me I have a problem, because I wasn’t telling him the truth. I changed three workplaces in 2007, I told him, I get confused. “What were you doing on the Atidim project?,” he asked, impatiently, and I told him I worked with police intelligence materials and had high security clearance, and then I had myself an anxiety attack under the building on Harlap 6.
He made another phone call and produced another guy, also in a buttoned shirt, who asked more questions but asked them tougher. I asked for water and again he said he didn’t have any, and spoke to me for some 20 minutes.
He asked me all the questions all over again and I answered them all over again and he didn’t believe me I didn’t remember the name of the CEO of the company that I work for.
He said, “I’ll make another phone call and I’ll let you go soon,” and then asked, “are you crying because of me, or because of the exam?”
I shrugged.
“Are you always like that before exams?”
“I’m always like that,” I said, “I’m thirsty and anxiety-prone. Do you want the phone number for my shrink?”
“Is he from Jerusalem?” he asked.
“No, I’m kidding,” I told him. “I’m just anxiety-prone.”
“I see,” he said, shuffled aside and spoke on the phone. And then he came back, gave me back my ID card and told me I was released. I took my bag, without answering him, and walked home. When I got home I drank a glass of water. I feel ready to leave Jerusalem now.
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Dave
Sounds like “Stasiland”
Elisabeth
It is a scary story. When Haggai Matar wrote about the incident when speakers at an anti African rally in Tel Aviv said that he was there and that he and his mother were traitors and set the mob on him, it was the first time that I realised things are getting very bad for Israeli dissidents now.
Moriel Rothman
blergh.
sh
That they are happy to flaunt what they know about an individual is a sign that they are under pressure. It’s a shame it has to get so much worse before it gets better.
Kolumn9
This is interesting. The security services are either more technologicaly savvy than before, more paranoiid than before or both. Odds are here they thought this woman was doing recon for a possible attack and then held her until they were sure nothing was going on. Seems like relatively standard procedure after they decided that this woman might be a risk.
Alex Penkas
I assume you have no idea about what non jew citizins go through if for some reason they have to travel, or pass through some places as you did…(1984) is only a smooth version of the democratic state of Israel
Brendan
Until he made phone calls, he didn’t know anything at all except what she told him and what he observed. This is an example of the “cold reading” technique, which magicians and “psychics” use to convince their audiences that they have special powers. He will be quite pleased to read this article and will show it to his superiors.
bettina
interesting story – 1 why should one have to answer all these personal questions to somebody on the street who shows some sort of ID? 2 why does one (answer)? 3 the previous comments on the article show how really far we have come – elisabeth writes about “dissidents” but Gil is described as being a student and no dissident at all. Brendan is probably right about the security guy reading lots of body language and then making some phonecalls, but why should he then get all this information just by making a phone call and where is it stored before that.
SCARY indeed.
JG
That are the right questions, Bettina. Same was my first reaction when I read the story. Why the heck did she answer all the questions? The right reaction would be “No thanks. If you want something send me a subpoena and then talk to my lawyer and till I don’t see my lawyer I don’t say anything except name and address”
Gil
Hi.
I saw some of the comments (obviously, I take pleasure in what people have to say about me). I think Brendan got it right, looking back it was probably mostly “cold reading”.
as Dimi wrote, I’m not an activist nor very political, and once detained I actually thought if I cooperate they’ll let me go quickly, while if I refuse to cooperate they’ll detain me for as long as they could. and I really just wanted to go home. Once detained for over 20 minutes, fear was what made me keep cooperating. Sure, it might not have been the wisest action, but people who are stressed and scared won’t usually pick the wisest action.
Elisabeth
Gil, there definitely was a cold reading initially. But at some point he made a phone call, informing him that you were not telling him the truth on your employment record.
Is it normal to have such information ready on random passers-by?
Also he asked about who your boyfriend was, where you live, where you work and the phone number at your workplace etc.
Is that normal? It seems outrageous to me.
jon
This girl casually walked through a gap in Putin’s police escorted motorcade and wonders why she was questioned? WHO DOES THAT? I dont walk through the presidents motorcade in the USA, because I dont want to trouble with the secret service.
Also this doesnt make sense:
“He asked for an ID card and requested that I show him what I have in my backpack and my binder…”
“Why are you studying international relations,” he asked, and I started explaining it was an introductory course before I realised he knew what I was studying.”
Well she had just taken a look inside this guys school backpack and binder, so there is the first clue as to how he knew what this guy as studying. Think about it, it is impossible to have agents with encyclopedic knowledge on people based on sight and memory like is being presumed in this situation. Its absolutely a ludicrous accusation, and has reasonable explanations.
To prove that there are reasonable explanations, she was not a random passerby.
“I told him I worked with police intelligence materials and had high security clearance”
Also,
“He made two phone calls and told me I have a problem”
The agent clearly had to get information by radioing back, and looking in a database to confirm. This is not unreasonable when doing a background check of someone who came in such close contact to a presidential motorcade.
Al
To answer the question: as much as anyone else. Paranoia seems to be contagious.