As someone who travels to Israel from the United States on an almost monthly basis, I spend a fair bit of thought comparing and contrasting the two cultures.

And while, as a regular visitor to Israel I am used to what has been recognized as amongst the best security in the world, on my last trip I was particularly struck by a thought, that this emphasis on security would be considered an invasion of privacy in the U.S.

Many years ago, even during the height of the Second Intifada and even more so in light of September 11th, I recognized that despite the almost daily media images and reports on the “violence” in Israel, I in fact feel safer in Israel than I do anywhere else in the world.

American security, particularly airport security, tends to be of a fast-food variety – more appearance than substance, responding to a short term need, rather than a lasting, satisfying solution.  A man tries to ignite explosives in his sneakers, and years later we are asked to remove our shoes each and every time we pass through security, regardless of the fact that this ploy has never been duplicated, or the fact that if it’s the shoes they’re checking, a terrorist is likely to find a new hiding place.  Or the foiled plot of last summer involving liquid explosives, which has left endless travelers arguing with airport security that sealed yogurts containers, gel stain remover sticks, or lip gloss do not constitute a national threat.

Yet one of the most difficult contradictions is that while Americans are obsessed with their personal (sense of) security, they are at least equally obsessed with their personal freedoms.

In Israel one gets used to seeing armed forces milling about amongst the civilian population. In America, this is a cause for alarm. 

In Israel people open their bags for strangers in the form of security guards to rummage through just about every time they enter a public space, including the mall, the cinema and the local cafes.  Parking in an enclosed space means having one’s trunk, glove compartment and all their contents inspected upon entrance.   Once the car is parked, the person is once again subjected to a search, including either a metal detector or body scan.  It may be annoying, but it’s not generally thought of as intrusive.

For Americans, however, intrusiveness is seen not only as a nuisance, but increasingly as a direct personal threat, particularly now in the age of identity theft, another potentially devastating security threat facing individuals today.

The key is to find a balance between the individual’s seemingly conflicting rights – who needs protecting from whom?

The full individual liberty mentality of Americans is not a viable option for just this reason – it is unclear whose rights should persevere in this sea of ambiguity.  The almost siege mentality of life in Israel, while mostly serving those it protects, is also not an option for many democratic states (there is, unfortunately also a fair amount of racial and ethnic profiling involved).

Fortunately, a third option exists – one which relies almost exclusively on technology including video analytics.  Video analytics, in my opinion, is the way of the future. 

Current surveillance techniques include over 100 million cameras installed throughout the world, growing at a rate of 25% a year, and involving huge numbers of manpower hours watching and waiting.

With new technologies, many of them being developed in Israel, video cameras work with automatic technology to alert human monitors only when something of suspicion occurs.  This is not only a more accurate form of tracing human activity, but far less intrusive.

Through improved video surveillance and analysis, Big Brother may be watching us in a sense, but only when the need arises.  That makes me feel safer as an individual, all around.