Quote :

"A US Airways flight from LaGuardia to Louisville, KY, was diverted to land in Philadelphia after a 17-year-old male began a Jewish prayer ritual. The flight crew became concerned when the teen began a prayer ritual in which a set of boxes, called tefillin, are strapped to the head and arm before praying. The crew questioned the teen, who was traveling with his sister, about his activities. Although his answers did not raise any alarms, the pilot decided to divert Flight 3079 and land in Philadelphia, PA, in order to address the situation."

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Someone plese embed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdw8gG9EwRs&feature=player_embedded

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 12:48 PM. Reason : -]

1/22/2010 12:47:51 PM

C'mon man, you can't even keep your shoes on at the frigging airport. This is hardly surprising. Hell, I'm surprised an Israeli Jew hasn't been mistaken for a dangerous terrorist before now by some idiot. Poor guy is probably going to spend the next 8 hours being interrogated and will probably land on a list of some kind despite the fact that he did nothing wrong.

1/22/2010 12:53:42 PM

if anyone is wondering what teffilin looks like:



The boxes contain parts of the scripture. You tie one around your head and one around your arm:



I guess having a little black box could be suspicious, especially if you see someone wrap it around their head and start speaking in a language you don't understand.

But after the kid explained what it was and showed no sign of aggression, I would be pissed if I was a passenger ont hat plane and had to land somewhere else.

1/22/2010 1:07:45 PM

Quote :

"I guess having a little black box could be suspicious, especially if you see someone wrap it around their head and start speaking in a language you don't understand."

Sure, if you're a god damned idiot. Sounds like the pilot is one.

Quote :

"Although his answers did not raise any alarms, the pilot decided to divert Flight 3079 and land in Philadelphia, PA, in order to address the situation.""

What "situation" needs to be addressed?

1/22/2010 1:12:58 PM

he's gonna get some coupons!

1/22/2010 1:51:43 PM

so i'm not familiar with this prayer...but are you eternally damned if you don't perform this ritual at a certain time? I mean was there a specific reason this kid performed this prayer vs. another prayer aboard this flight other than to see how close he can get to pushing the boundaries of what looks suspicious and what doesnt?

1/22/2010 1:57:30 PM

are you proposing a law/regulation that says who can pray and when and where?

1/22/2010 2:07:32 PM

lmao. Hold on a sec, gotta put on these boxes before i pray to my god.


but for real, airport security and this type of thing is the dumbest. Get rid of it all.

1/22/2010 2:16:42 PM

What a dumb prayer ritual. They should be eating and drinking their lord like civilized people.

1/22/2010 2:23:34 PM

So I guess checking the contents of the boxes from the perfectly cooperative passengers and verifying that they are not, in fact, bombs wasn't enough to convince the pilot that they were not... bombs?

Maybe TSA knows the Old Testament can suddenly turn into incendiaries. On more flight saved, huh?

1/22/2010 2:23:37 PM

Jews are the worst threat to American freedom.

1/22/2010 2:27:14 PM

Shit, I guess that's what happens when you strap little devices to your body on an airplane in the post-9/11 world. I probably would have clubbed this little zealot right over the head had I been a passenger on that flight.

1/22/2010 3:10:26 PM

just out of curiosity what are the magic boxes supposed to do? is it like an antenna or something?

1/22/2010 3:13:16 PM

Shit, I guess that's what happens when you wear a turban on an airplane in the post-9/11 world. I probably would have clubbed this little zealot right over the head had I been a passenger on that flight.

Shit, I guess that's what happens when you look Arabic on an airplane in the post-9/11 world. I probably would have clubbed this little zealot right over the head had I been a passenger on that flight.

Shit, I guess that's what happens when you appear different from a red-blooded American on an airplane in the post-9/11 world. I probably would have clubbed this little zealot right over the head had I been a passenger on that flight.

1/22/2010 3:17:41 PM

Clever.

1/22/2010 3:26:18 PM

Quote :

"Hell, I'm surprised an Israeli Jew hasn't been mistaken for a dangerous terrorist before now by some idiot."

boy imagine making that mistake

1/22/2010 3:36:22 PM

holy hell, that's a fuckin' bulldozer

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 3:42 PM. Reason : .]

1/22/2010 3:41:50 PM

Quote :

"are you proposing a law/regulation that says who can pray and when and where?"

Yes. Never and no-where. Bam, problem solved. Next time when someone starts strapping boxes to themselves and jibbering in a strange language you know what's what.

Do you support my 1st Amendment rights to repeatedly say the word "bomb" on an airflight?

1/22/2010 4:24:23 PM

^ Good luck defining what a prayer is.

1/22/2010 4:35:18 PM

The first line was facetious. The 2nd line was tongue-in-cheek serious.

1/22/2010 4:43:58 PM

Quote :

"are you proposing a law/regulation that says who can pray and when and where?"

I think you just did. I am, however, proposing that passengers use some common sense on both sides. Praying is fine but rituals? Whats next, sacrificing live animals on planes because its part of my prayer ritual?

1/22/2010 5:28:46 PM

playing devil's advocate, I have never heard of this type of prayer with the boxes and whatnot.

I dont blame the pilot. If I were a passenger or I had a loved-one on the plane, I would hope the pilot used his best judgment at all times and if he felt he needed to land and address it, so be it.

it doesnt make the pilot ignorant because he doesnt know the specifics of every religion and their prayer habits.

Quote :

"I am, however, proposing that passengers use some common sense on both sides. Praying is fine but rituals? Whats next, sacrificing live animals on planes because its part of my prayer ritual? "

agreed.

1/22/2010 5:46:48 PM

Yeah, I've never heard of this either...but the Jewish population around here is tiny.

I've got an idea. Each person boarding an airliner must get inside bomb-proof sarcophagi and remain sealed inside their respective container for the remainder of the flight. Once inside you can shout extremities or roll over and pray to mecca or strap boxes to your head. Double occupancy coffins would cost extra.

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 6:02 PM. Reason : .]

1/22/2010 6:01:23 PM

A dude started speaking a foreign language and strapping shit to his body. I can absolutely see why the pilot and others reacted as they did initially, but after the kid explained it seems like a bit of an overreaction.

That said, my high school was positively riddled with Jews of various stripes, and there's plenty of exposure to Jewish customs through the media, and I've never once heard of this box-strapping thing. I would bet that few people have.

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 6:05 PM. Reason : I originally wanted to say "crawling with Jews" but mazur seems like he's sensitive about it]

1/22/2010 6:05:23 PM

please dont confuse israeli people with their evil government.

1/22/2010 6:10:34 PM

please try to stay the fuck on topic.

1/22/2010 6:12:14 PM

Quote :

" I am, however, proposing that passengers use some common sense on both sides. Praying is fine but rituals? Whats next, sacrificing live animals on planes because its part of my prayer ritual?"

1/22/2010 6:16:11 PM

4^ i don't see anything wrong with "crawling" ...pretty commonly used phrase

Quote :

"I dont blame the pilot. If I were a passenger or I had a loved-one on the plane, I would hope the pilot used his best judgment at all times and if he felt he needed to land and address it, so be it."

and what was wrong with this solution?

Quote :

"So I guess checking the contents of the boxes from the perfectly cooperative passengers and verifying that they are not, in fact, bombs wasn't enough to convince the pilot that they were not... bombs?"

Quote :

"just out of curiosity what are the magic boxes supposed to do? is it like an antenna or something?"

"These words that I command you today shall be in your heart. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes." (from Exodus 13)

It is essentially taking the phrase literally by putting the words of G-d in the boxes, wrapping one around your hand and arm, and the other around your head so the box rests between your eyes. I don't personally own a tefillin set or practice this ritual, but most orthodox Jews do.

I'm especially surprised there was a problem since the plane was coming from LGA...I see Jews praying in the airport with tefillin on all the time. I've seen it on a plane too...but that plane was heading for Israel so everyone knew what was up.


[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 6:27 PM. Reason : -]

1/22/2010 6:17:09 PM

what the fuck do any of the passengers/staff know about bombs? You don't open a suspicious package/device to see if there is a stop watch and 3 sticks of TNT attached to it

I think the real sting here is that an Israelite got treated the same way as the arabs they steam roll. I mean how the hell could they let this happen???

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 6:50 PM. Reason : .]

1/22/2010 6:48:24 PM

I couldn't care less about that part of it. What I do find annoying is the continually asinine behavior of TSA and airline employees.

It's really only a matter of time before everyone will have to completely strip when going through security and will be given a sedative before take off.

1/22/2010 6:53:08 PM

Quote :

"what the fuck do any of the passengers/staff know about bombs? You don't open a suspicious package/device to see if there is a stop watch and 3 sticks of TNT attached to it "

EXACTLY. it also shows that we are not discriminatory...jew, christian or arab, we are going to use caution, which is fine by me.

1/22/2010 7:02:28 PM

exactly. We won't even use common sense, either. What's that? your 1-your old child has a name that's on the terrorist watch list? Better frisk that fucker, just to be careful. Your 8-year old has the same name? Strip searches for him!

1/22/2010 7:04:05 PM

Quote :

"A dude started speaking a foreign language and strapping shit to his body. I can absolutely see why the pilot and others reacted as they did initially, but after the kid explained it seems like a bit of an overreaction. That said, my high school was positively riddled with Jews of various stripes, and there's plenty of exposure to Jewish customs through the media, and I've never once heard of this box-strapping thing. I would bet that few people have."

I've never heard of it either.

I never realized that the Jews were as nuts as the Muslims when it comes to bizarre prayer rituals.

I do recall in another thread though that people were speculating that if a muslim broke out a prayer mat and started praying, it would be expected for the fellow passengers to be suspicious and react the same way as they did for this jew.

It's sad and unfortunate that this type of thing happens today, but it's the world we live in.

1/22/2010 8:05:17 PM

the effects are not limited to ignorant citizens, of course. Our officials are generally the worst offenders

http://salon.com/technology/ask_the_pilot/2010/01/21/american_hysteria/index.html
evacuating a terminal at Kennedy Airport because some tired, probably confused Hatian got mixed up and walked through an emergency exit. Because..... that's exactly something a terrorist would do

1/22/2010 8:20:34 PM

It's been pointed out in other threads, but the whole thing is a catch-22. You ignore some unusual behavior that turns out to cause a problem, and everyone thinks you're a prick who didn't do his job (and may be dead for it). You respond to some unusual behavior that turns out not to cause a problem, you're an oppressive prick (and may be fired for it).

Quote :

"I do recall in another thread though that people were speculating that if a muslim broke out a prayer mat and started praying, it would be expected for the fellow passengers to be suspicious and react the same way as they did for this jew."

Hasn't this happened? I seem to recall a news story about either a devout Muslim praying at a defined time, or maybe just one who was scared of flying and praying for that reason, or something, and problems ensued.

Quote :

"what the fuck do any of the passengers/staff know about bombs?"

This is important. I see a guy holding a suspicious package, I'm not going to respond well to him fiddling with that suspicious package.

As much as I hate to say it, I think the best thing to do is to have people who may perform such rituals inform a member of the crew prior to takeoff (preferably boarding), show them the contents of the boxes, and explain what's going to happen before you're in a situation where a mistake can lead to deaths or somebody getting fired.

1/23/2010 2:42:31 AM

Quote :

"I think the real sting here is that an Israelite got treated the same way as the arabs they steam roll. I mean how the hell could they let this happen???"

It doesn't matter that he was Jewish, I hate that this has to happen to anybody.

Quote :

"what the fuck do any of the passengers/staff know about bombs? You don't open a suspicious package/device to see if there is a stop watch and 3 sticks of TNT attached to it"

the kid could have just opened the box and shown them it was only a slip of paper.

Quote :

"I never realized that the Jews were as nuts as the Muslims when it comes to bizarre prayer rituals."

Don't leave Christians out of that, their rituals are just as strange...its just that most of them restrict it to inside the church and home while Jews and Muslims are public about it and still no one understands what its about.

1/23/2010 3:17:05 AM

i wish EVERYONE would restrict their religious rituals to the privacy of their own home.

1/23/2010 5:40:28 PM

religion wouldn't be religion if it were restricted to peoples' homes.

1/23/2010 5:51:35 PM

Quote :

"i wish EVERYONE would restrict their religious rituals to the privacy of their own home. "

1/23/2010 11:19:02 PM

religion is not an individual thing. faith and morality may be based on the individual, but religion is made possible through the masses.

1/23/2010 11:30:28 PM

you're not writing a paper. no need to post nonsensical bullshit in the thread

1/23/2010 11:36:25 PM

^ BUT LOOK HOW EVIL THE JEWS ARE WITH THEIR EVIL BULLDOZERS!

1/24/2010 8:42:48 AM

i'm pretty sure that bulldozer can transform

1/24/2010 1:28:30 PM

Quote :

"the kid could have just opened the box and shown them it was only a slip of paper."

the point is, if it were a bomb, I'm sure he'd cooperate and be like "its ok, go ahead and open it, its just a slip of paper inside anyway" then BOOM.

You don't know whats in there, its not your job to find out. This is why we have bomb squad. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

1/24/2010 1:52:25 PM

Quote :

"religion is not an individual thing. faith and morality may be based on the individual, but religion is made possible through the masses."

ok, then restrict religion to the home and places of worship.

problem solved.

1/24/2010 9:33:00 PM

^^

Yeah the last time I flew this dark skinned guy wore this head wrap, and since I didn't know about his culture or customs I automatically assumed he was a terrorist. Plus, he looked different from me. So, I asked him if he had a bomb on him, and he looked surprised (yea right!) and said it was a "turban" or whatever. I mean, he could have just been lying and it could have been a BOMB, who knows? Even if I asked him to unwrap it, it could have been like BOOM.

I'm glad I got that guy sent to Guantanamo Bay and tortured.

1/24/2010 9:41:37 PM

^I love it when you and I agree. For some reason I actually care about your opinion more than almost every other person who regularly posts

1/25/2010 12:59:15 AM

Quote :

"the point is, if it were a bomb, I'm sure he'd cooperate and be like "its ok, go ahead and open it, its just a slip of paper inside anyway" then BOOM. You don't know whats in there, its not your job to find out. This is why we have bomb squad."

The guy could have told the flight crew in advance. He could have shown the contents of his boxes in advance, and told the crew member to call back to security or something. But he didn't. He started strapping shit to himself on an airliner, in mid flight, while praying in a language that few Americans can readily identify. I'm sorry, it's shitty and all, but I'm not going to sit here and act like a large portion of Americans should recognize these prayer-box things.

I see anybody on a plane strapping shit to themselves that doesn't obviously have to with medical necessity, I'm probably going to overreact. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience.

1/25/2010 1:05:43 AM

Quote :

"Yeah the last time I flew this dark skinned guy wore this head wrap, and since I didn't know about his culture or customs I automatically assumed he was a terrorist. Plus, he looked different from me. So, I asked him if he had a bomb on him, and he looked surprised (yea right!) and said it was a "turban" or whatever. I mean, he could have just been lying and it could have been a BOMB, who knows? Even if I asked him to unwrap it, it could have been like BOOM. I'm glad I got that guy sent to Guantanamo Bay and tortured."

that doesn't even remotely make sense. try again.

Quote :

"The guy could have told the flight crew in advance. He could have shown the contents of his boxes in advance, and told the crew member to call back to security or something. But he didn't. He started strapping shit to himself on an airliner, in mid flight, while praying in a language that few Americans can readily identify. I'm sorry, it's shitty and all, but I'm not going to sit here and act like a large portion of Americans should recognize these prayer-box things. I see anybody on a plane strapping shit to themselves that doesn't obviously have to with medical necessity, I'm probably going to overreact. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience."

? are you disagreeing with me because you and I are on the same page

the point I was making is if something is suspected to be a bomb or looks suspicious, you don't open it. Take the proper precautions and let the trained authorities open it. Everyones happy and alive (hopefully).

[Edited on January 25, 2010 at 12:29 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on January 25, 2010 at 12:30 PM. Reason : .]

1/25/2010 12:28:26 PM

Quote :

"that doesn't even remotely make sense."

yeah it's crazy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFhzFRoiM3Q

Quote :

"the point I was making is if something is suspected to be a bomb or looks suspicious, you don't open it. Take the proper precautions and let the trained authorities open it. Everyones happy and alive (hopefully)."

The point everyone else is making is that to anyone who is familiar with Jewish customs, that "strange bomb looking suspicious device" is as plain looking as a Nintendo game boy. The only reason that guy got hassled is because he looked weird and was doing things that were different from the American Christian norm.

[Edited on January 25, 2010 at 12:37 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2010 12:35:54 PM