I would guess that yes, Israeli Customs are a little stricter than Indian customs.
I believe it is against Indian customs to bring or ship (import) any DVDs/CDs/technology-that-you-can-sell into that country if they "produce it themselves," so technically they should have taken his records. I know my partner mailed me the "Lost Season 1" DVDs as a surprise, and the whole package was confiscated and I had to go to the sketchy post office (not the normal one... the one in the middle of nowhere with hundreds of packages just thrown about, and plywood on the concrete steps to slide packages down) and I had to lie and say that all DVDs in the package were personal/homemade DVDs. Then they wrote a note in my passport and I was good to go.
Also - a quick tangent on Indian Airport Security - I was taking a vacation from my time in India to go to Sri Lanka for a week, and I was flying out of Chennai (which is where I spent most of time there). Now mind you, I have 8 earrings, all gauged to about 6 gauge or so, which is not that big and not all that unusual looking... but the Indians loved it, and I would be stopped almost every day for men to fondle and gawk at my ears (the men are very touchy feely with each other, they hang all over each other walking down the street, it is not sexualized at all... but seeing a women's bare calf can be scandalous!). I am going through security, and the guy wanding me as I go through the metal detector gets excited about my earrings and asks if I have any other piercings, and if my tongue is pierced (mind you, this is all in pantomime since he doesnt know English and I dont know Tamil). I said that I dont have my tongue pierced, but I do have my nipples pierced. At this point, he gets really excited, calls over the other security guards, and lifts my shirt over my head, and for about 30 seconds or so I had all 5 security guards, who were manning 3 security lines, literally pulling on and pinching my nipples and nipple piercings. Then they lowered my shirt, kind of nodded at me, smiling, and waved me through.
It was pretty ridiculous. Surprisingly, (or not, if you have been there,) it was not the most ridiculous moment during my stay in India...
