Discriminatory Security Practices at Train Stations

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Information received by ACRI indicates that security personnel at train stations require some passengers to identify themselves, ask personal questions such as their travel destination, and at times detain them without substantive justification. According to the reports, this is directed mainly toward Palestinians who are citizens and residents of Israel, foreign nationals, and other populations on the basis of their appearance, accent, or Hebrew proficiency. On April 29, 2026, ACRI submitted an appeal to the legal advisor of Israel Railways demanding an end to these practices when carried out in a discriminatory manner. 

In the appeal, Attorney Yael Seidemann argues that this kind of profiling is a violation of the right to equality, human dignity, privacy, and freedom of movement, and may constitute illegal discrimination in the provision of a public service. The issues raised in the appeal include: 

• Exercising security powers without a clear, public procedure renders arbitrariness and racial profiling more likely; 

• Requiring identification without a specific need labels a person as a suspect in the eyes of the public, even if they have done nothing wrong; 

• Questioning a traveler about their destination or other personal details infringes on the traveler’s privacy and exceeds the authority of security personnel; 

• When questioning is used to identify a traveler’s origin, nationality, or language, it results in discriminatory outcomes even if no discriminatory policy has been declared. In practice, certain passengers are subjected to degrading treatment, delays, and stress when using public transportation while others are not. 

The appeal demands that Israel Railways instruct security personnel to stop identification checks and questioning that are not for a concrete security purpose. ACRI is also requesting that the powers of security personnel at train stations be regulated by public procedures that account for relevance and equality, the establishment of mandatory training for security personnel on human rights and discrimination, and the creation of oversight and enforcement mechanisms to prevent the arbitrary or discriminatory use of authority. 

ACRI's appeal, April 29, 2026 (Heb) 

The appeal was written with the assistance of legal intern Saly May