A British Muslim woman has drawn widespread attention — and sharp backlash — after posting a TikTok video describing a positive experience passing through security at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, challenging widely held perceptions about treatment of Muslim travelers.
The woman, who posts under the name Sanam, shared footage earlier this month recounting her arrival in Israel en route to visit Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque. In the video, which quickly went viral, she said airport officials treated her respectfully and without harassment.
“They gave me a coffee, they gave me a cheese sandwich,” she said. “We weren’t strip-searched or anything like that. It was all good.”
Sanam said she decided to document the experience after hearing negative stories that initially made her hesitant to travel. She said she hoped sharing her account would encourage others to judge the experience for themselves.
The video sparked a flood of online reactions. Critics accused her of “promoting” Israel and questioned her motives, with some commenters asking whether she had been paid to post the video. Others expressed anger over her decision to speak positively about Israeli security procedures amid the ongoing war.
At the same time, many Israelis and Jewish users thanked her for sharing her experience and welcomed her to the country. Several commenters said her post offered a rare counter-narrative to claims of systemic mistreatment at the airport.
In a follow-up video filmed in Jerusalem, Sanam described hearing church bells near the al-Aqsa Mosque and wrote, “One city, three religions.” That post also drew mixed reactions. When some Israelis praised Israel’s religious freedoms and security, she responded dismissively, correcting users who referred to Israel by name and instead calling the area “Palestine.”
The videos highlight how even personal travel experiences can become flashpoints online amid heightened political tensions surrounding Israel and the Palestinian territories.
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