Tin Foil ALERT

[GS78]

Plane is diverted to Philly from Laguardia I think, all the passengers are taken off at a deserted part of the LZ except for one, who is taken into custody??

[GS78]

a PRAYER forces plane down......oh it was .... a .... jew? one of those dangerous jews praying that got the attention of a stewardess, oh sorry flight attendant. According to one of the flight officers, she asked the jew what he was doing, and he responded he was praying. The flight officer also reitterated that the man was peaceful, and cooperative, but the stewardess was concerned .... so they landed. That was a close one.

[zephyp]

They were concerned when they saw him attaching his prayer device (dont know what its called) to his body. Next, they'll divert planes when people pray over what they call food on an airliner these days.

[GS78]

They were concerned when they saw him attaching his prayer device (dont know what its called) to his body. Next, they'll divert planes when people pray over what they call food on an airliner these days.

oh, ok . If it was that shawl thing, (tsi-tsi, I believe) then I can see why that might freak someone out on a plane.

[GS78]

"tefillin" small black boxes that contain prayers ....that he was attaching to his arms and forehead.......ok, now I am surprised he didn't get beaten unconscious...really? on a plane? that was smart.....

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-shee ... trow_12983

[VBshooter]

\From the AP.."Another rabbi, however, said tefillin have been used for thousands of years and he found it hard to believe no one recognized it. Benjamin Blech, an assistant professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University in New York, said he found the incident "both humorous and outlandish" and called it a "wake-up call" for religious sensitivity." Personally I"ll take security over religious sensitivity anytime.

[GS78]

\From the AP.."Another rabbi, however, said tefillin have been used for thousands of years and he found it hard to believe no one recognized it. Benjamin Blech, an assistant professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University in New York, said he found the incident "both humorous and outlandish" and called it a "wake-up call" for religious sensitivity." Personally I"ll take security over religious sensitivity anytime.

Yeah, but the flight attendant/stewardess hasn't been around for thousands of years and I have to admit if I was her and some young "middle eastern looking" man was attaching small black boxes to himself while praying,presumably in yiddish, or hebrew dialect while on a plane at any elevation..... I'd be freaked out too..(the original news story that I referenced , which I saw, sounded much more like she was anti-prayer period, it did not include these details.

[VBshooter]

Funny how none of the media has mentioned the angle like that ... "Man attaching blocks to arm and head and praying"... I too would freak out,,, It is probably too much to ask that the kid would have enough common sense to not do that considering the climate of air travel today,.. As noted before ,He was lucky he wasn;t jumped , then bound and gagged until landing.There are times when restraint is a good thing.. Or the kid could have gone to the latrine and did it in private...

[KaosDad]

Just so everyone knows what the tefillin looks like:



This is not the greatest picture in the world for many reasons, but you can plainly see what they look like. Note the black box on the model's fore head and on the inside of the left arm. Here's a second picture of what the wrapping on the left arm looks like:



So, I am not too certain I would not have freaked out either.

[zephyp]

Yep. I would have definitely tackled her...those straps would make good bonds...that does look suspicious.

[herohog]

In my 53 years on this rock I have NEVER seen this before! WTF? WHERE is this common?

[KaosDad]

It's a very traditional Jewish custom. Once again, Wiki does a stellar job:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tefillin

Please, please - this is a real custom, it's not a tangent. This man was simply not being aware of his situation. In this case I understand all sides. However, airline personnel cannot be knowledgable about ALL religous customs and all folks have to be aware of the elevated level of hysteria we are under - especially in the air.

[herohog]

I guess it's because I haven't ever lived/stayed in any heavily Jewish areas in my life...
Cool, learn something new every day!