We weren't sure it would be possible to get in—Israel tightly controls access to Gaza through the Erez checkpoint, and getting a press pass as a foreign journalist required going through the Israeli press agency. Any one of us could have raised a security flag. But probably because of our Jewish names, the person staffing the office didn't bother looking into us, and we got the necessary accreditation. At the Erez checkpoint, our Jewish names activated our ethnic doubles once again and we were assumed to be sympathetic to Israel's occupation. So while Palestinians stood in long interrogation lines, we sailed through with just a quick ID check, along with bag and body X-rays. Then, jarringly, we were on the other side of the concrete wall, surrounded by watchtowers.

XREF: The 'ethnic double' concept seen earlier in the book apparently connects directly to this anecdote — names as identity markers shaping treatment and access. QUESTION: Does this suggest pervasive profiling based on surnames at Israeli checkpoints, and what systems could counter it?

Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, loc. 1019