Israel Blocking iPads at Customs

An Israeli returning to his home land from a trip to the U.S. saw his iPad confiscated when he tried to declare his new iPad at customs. When he spoke to the ministry, he was told "It is forbidden to bring iPads into Israel; send it back overseas." He was told to apply to the Communications Ministry to have it returned. In the meanwhile, he is charged money for every day that the device remains in a customs warehouse, according to a report by Haaretz.com

Not only has the Communications Ministry blocked the import of iPads to Israel, but the customs authority has been directed to confiscate them. So far, 10 Apple tablets have been confiscated, according to the head of customs at Ben-Gurion International Airport. The refusal of the ministry's engineering staff to compromise on testing the device's suitability and compliance with Israeli wireless networks is what led to this decision, the report in question reveals.

However, somewhere along the lines, something reportedly went wrong, as the engineers who made their decision did so without notifying Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon in advance. This reportedly caused an uproar within the ministry which is yet to give the device categorical approval required for wireless devices. Adding insult to injury, the iPad’s wireless capabilities are not compatible with Israeli standards, ministry officials say.

"The iPad device sold exclusively today in the United States operates at broadcast power levels [over its WiFi modem] compatible with American standards," explained the officials. "As the Israeli regulations in the area of WiFi are similar to European standards, which are different from American standards, which permit broadcasting at lower power, therefore the broadcast levels of the device prevent approving its use in Israel," said the officials.

The situation may be remedied once the ministry receives all the relevant information it has requested from Apple's Israeli distributor, iDigital.