Behrman House Blog

Everyone knows it's unwise to take photos of the Israeli Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem. But who knew that taking a photo of an apartment building diagonally across the street could get you into trouble with the Israeli Secret Service. Not me.

There I was in Israel last week, camera in hand, capturing a shot that I thought had potential for use in our books: an Israeli flag draped over a balcony, covered in laundry. I was already planning the caption: "Who needs a flag when you don't have clean socks?"—or something like that.

The Israeli Secret Service didn't like it. Two polite young men in dark glasses questioned me for 15 minutes about why I was taking the photo. Didn't I know that the Rosh Hamemshalah lived across the street? Why was I in Israel? Where was I staying? For how long? Why was I interested in this particular building?

Talking into their sleeves, they called in my passport number. They had me click through every photo I'd taken in Israel—on two cameras (we're talking hundreds of photos).

I tried to explain what I do for a living and why I was taking the photo and that I'm a good citizen but it was only when I gave them my business card (see, I'm official!) that they wished me, "Have a nice day," and sent me on my way. Although they didn't make me delete the photo, I've decided it's not good enough to include in a book. But on a blog, hey, it's just fine.