Annals of outrageDonna Shalala detained and interrogated for hours at Israeli airport
Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami and secretary of health and human services in the Clinton administration, is detained for two-and-a-half hours by Israeli security personnel at Tel Aviv airport, “during which she was asked invasive and humiliating personal questions,” according to an Israeli daily newspaper; Shalala, 69, is of Lebanese decent
University of Miami president Donna Shalala welcomes her old boss to campus // Source: miami.edu
University of Miami president Donna Shalala was detained and interrogated at Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv last month. The former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services was visiting Israel in July as part of a delegation of university leaders from across the United States, invited by Project Interchange, a program of the American Jewish Congress.
Miami Herald’s Kelly House writes that after the weeklong delegation visit from 5 to 11 July, Shalala stayed behind for several more days to accompany a group from University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine in meetings with Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.
According to a 30 July University of Miami release, Bar-Ilan is planning to create Israel’s fifth medical school, in the Galilee region. “In a series of July meetings with BIU’s leadership and Israeli President Shimon Peres, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other Israeli officials, President Shalala, Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, and a delegation of prominent UM faculty expressed their eagerness to collaborate with BIU in the development of innovative curriculum, research and clinical programs, the exchange of students, faculty and patients, and the creation of a world-class medical destination in the Galilee,” the release states.
Shalala, 69, was “delayed by questions and a full luggage search that lasted almost three hours, but she didn’t miss her plane,” Margot Winick, a University of Miami spokeswoman, told House in an e-mail. Shalala was asked personal questions for about two hours, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported (“American VIP humiliated at airport,” 6 August 2010 Ynet). According to the Israeli daily, Shalala “was held for two-and-a-half hours during which she was asked invasive and humiliating personal questions.”
A university spokespersons declined to comment in detail on the incident, but released a statement from the president: “While I was inconvenienced, Israel’s security and the security of travelers is far more important,” said Shalala, who is of Lebanese decent. “I have been going in and out of Israel for many years and expect to visit again.”
The Yedioth Ahronoth reported officials said her last name was what triggered the security concern. The newspaper reported that the American Jewish Congress claimed it notified the Israel Airports Authority of Shalala’s VIP status before her flight, but the airport authority reported having no record on file for Shalala prior to her arrival.
In a meeting convened by Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon to discuss treatment of VIPs at the airport, it was agreed to draft a new protocol.
