The Security Guard
at the Entrance
There is a country, perhaps the only one in the world, whose residents go to a shopping or entertainment complex, and before they enter, they must go through a security check.
That country is called: Israel.
This happens every day everywhere here.
And it is part of the daily routine of all Israelis, without distinction of religion, race, or gender: At the entrance to every mall and every shopping center, there is at least one or two security guards – a man or a woman in special uniforms, sometimes armed, sometimes not.
And what do these Israelis want, after all?
Just to buy shoes, to drink coffee, to wander around and look at window displays in a giant or small shopping center. Just like citizens in any other country in the world.
Hold on... Stop.
Before they go inside, they are stopped.
“Do you have a weapon?” the security guard asks, and requests to place the bag for inspection, to pass through a magnetometer, and if everything is in order – they can enter.
This also happens at the entrance to a theater or a hotel, cinemas and schools, at private events, and at large public events – the same procedure with a guard who looks similar everywhere.
Even at the entrance to a large parking garage, when a car owner wants to park their vehicle, they might meet security guards who will open the trunk and scan it with their eyes to make sure there is no explosive device or weapon.
"It is what it is," Israelis say. "There's nothing to be done about it."
We live in a country without absolute security quiet.
At any moment, a terrorist could appear with weapons or an explosive device hidden on their body and carry out a mass attack. This reality requires daily alertness and the placement of permanent security in every place where there is a concentration of people. Also in the public transportation system – at stations, on trains, and on buses.
Israel lives between wars and terror events, between limited military operations on its borders and ballistic missiles sent from afar. Its citizens have not known a reality of peace and quiet since the establishment of the state, and perhaps long before that.
The level of security changes according to the security situation in the area.
On days when a military operation or a series of terror events is underway – the security check will be performed according to all the rules and procedures set by law: the gentleman will be asked to place his phone and keys on the counter and pass through the attached magnetometer "clean" and without any metal objects. The search of the lady’s bag will be carried out with extra strictness. The gentleman and the lady will be allowed to pass only if no unusual beeping sound is heard, and if there is no attached magnetometer at the security station, a special physical search will be conducted with a manual metal detector on everyone who enters.
When the security tension decreases and the situation seems calm – the level of security checks drops.
The security guards let entrants pass easily and skip one or more steps. In any case, their eyes are open and scanning situations and people, looking for potential suspects.
Security in public spaces is accepted naturally by all Israeli citizens.
No one thinks it’s abnormal, unnecessary, an invasion of privacy, or annoying. It is even regulated by laws, regulations, and official procedures written by the relevant authorities.
And those who are not comfortable with it… There are no such things there.
Historical Bits
The era of permanent public security, in every corner, began in the 1990s.
Until then, the residents of Israel were familiar with a security reality that included wars and military operations, but these were conducted beyond enemy lines, far from the home front. Once every few years, a mass terror attack would occur against Israeli citizens inside Israel’s sovereign territory, enclosed by the "Green Line" borders.
Each such attack would shake the public, for that day and for a short time after. The temporary shock did not seep deep into the public consciousness and did not change it.
After the victims of the attacks were buried, Israelis returned to their routine with a sense of security that they had someone to rely on – they had the IDF, which protects the state from its enemies, and the home front could continue to function without threats or worries.
The first signs of concern were seen in the late 1980s, with the outbreak of the "First Intifada." Then, a popular uprising of Palestinians living in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza began, bringing a wave of terror attacks – attacks that spilled over into the roads, streets, and commercial and entertainment centers inside the "Green Line."
The official Intifada ended a few years later, but the terror attacks did not disappear completely and continued into the next decade.
In the 1990s, something else happened: a revolution in Israel's shopping and entertainment habits emerged.
Stores and commercial areas moved from the streets and markets into enclosed complexes, the "malls" – one after another, malls were built from the Upper Galilee to the Arava, and every mall that was built filled with thousands of men and women, children, and teenagers who came to shop, watch movies, and eat at restaurants.
While they were getting used to the new style of entertainment and shopping routine, the Palestinian "Second Intifada" broke out. This one was already more difficult and brutal than the first – it brought a wave of attacks and claimed victims and property in large and small cities, on buses, in entertainment venues, and in every place where it was possible to kill and wound Israelis.
Israelis were afraid to walk the streets and increasingly gathered in enclosed spaces, at home or outside.
By the time the Second Intifada ended, the understanding that security guards must be placed wherever people gather, in large or slightly less large numbers, had become fixed in the public consciousness.
The concept of close security came from below, from the field.
Mall managers, restaurant owners, theaters, and cinema complexes understood on their own that they had to ensure the safety of their visitors and placed security guards on a permanent basis. This became a regular component in the cost of maintaining a place with a lot of people.
Then it went up, to the Knesset members and the government.
In the early 2000s, the state established laws and regulations that regulate security at the entrance, and since then until the state’s 75th anniversary, security guards have been part of the routine in Israel – they are in their permanent position at the entrance, alert and vigilant to prevent the next attack that could happen at any moment.
For one period only, for two years, the security guards filled a role that was not just about security.
This happened in 2020-2022, when the "Corona" pandemic raged.
Throughout this period, the government imposed lockdowns on all citizens, and between lockdowns, it only allowed entry to crowded centers for those wearing a mask. The Corona period brought months of relative security quiet, but the security guards did not leave their posts at the entrances – they were the supervisors responsible for ensuring the mask mandate and ensuring the health of the public.
An armed security guard with a mask during the Corona days
This is part of "The Israeli Story 1948-2025" project.
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