I have a separate category on my blog called Travel Nightmares. It’s where I recount everything that can go wrong or has gone wrong in my travels, whether it was self-inflicted or not. Visas are especially problematic for me (see China 72-hour Visa-Free Transit Disaster (again)). The worst experience was my detention upon arriving to Tel Aviv (see Detained in Tel Aviv: A Most Unwelcome Welcome) and my prolonged goodbye when I tried to leave (“You Leave Only with Passport!” Detained in Tel Aviv Again and Bags Recovered! Ending My Tel Aviv Ordeal).
Two days ago, Lucky wrote a post called, Israeli Passport Sticker Raises Eyebrows At Beirut Airport. In it, he describes how he was stopped by Lebanese authorities at the airport. He writes, “While I didn’t have an Israeli stamp in my passport, I did have an Israeli security sticker on the back cover of my passport. This is a sticker that’s placed on the back of your passport after you’re questioned at Ben Gurion Airport. It’s yellow and has a barcode.” After a quick detour to get his passport photocopied, he was sent on his way.
Lucky was, as his name suggests, lucky. Per the State Department, “Even if their travel documents currently do not have Israeli stamps or visas, persons seeking entry into Lebanon who have previously traveled to Israel may still face arrest and/or detention if this travel is disclosed.”
Given that information, there are some takeaways that are worth reiterating:
- Don’t get your passport stamped if you go to Israel.
- If you have been detained, remove the sticker from the back of your passport.
- Do not volunteer to the border agent that you have traveled to Israel.
Now for the questions that I don’t know the answer to:
- The State Department says arrest or detention is possible if “travel is disclosed.” If the border agent asks if you’ve ever been to Israel, what do you do?
- Lebanon is one of the few countries that I want to visit that I have yet to visit (see Where I’ve Been). By blogging, I have disclosed that I have been to Israel. How popular is TPOL in Lebanon? Is detention a certainty when I go? Obviously, there’s only one way to find out.
Overall
If you’ve gone to Israel, take note of this advice.
Good point on the disclosing part. I do wonder how much these countries search this stuff out. I went to Iran after going to Israel like 25 times (and blogging about it) and had no trouble getting a visa.
Guess it depends on the mood of the agent.
passports don’t get stamped in israel anyway…
We know this.
“Given that information, there are some takeaways that are worth reiterating:
Don’t get your passport stamped if you go to Israel.”
point=missed by you
They arrest you for trying to enter Lebanon? At worst they should deny entry. Why arrest?
Lol. Right?
One thing – you don’t have to be detained to get that sticker. When you are asked questions pre-security, they put that sticker there and then scan it at security so everyone should have one.
Good addition. Thank you.
God how I wish they would have locked Lucky up.
Hahahaha. Funny but cruel.
[…] Detained in Israel? Check The Back of Your Passport […]
Just by posing such questions, you are acknowledging that you are considering placing your well-being at risk. It seems to me that you could simply avoid traveling to countries like Lebanon that choose to punish you for using your passport legally, in accordance with the rules and regulations of your home country (passport issuer).
Nah I still think I’ll go