Alaska Airlines Met By FBI In Los Angeles After Group Of Passengers Perform Jewish Ritual

LOS ANGELES -- Pilots on an Alaska Airlines flight locked down the cockpit and alerted authorities after three passengers conducted an elaborate orthodox Jewish prayer ritual during their Los Angeles-bound flight.

Airline spokeswoman Bobbie Egan says the crew of Flight 241 from Mexico City became alarmed Sunday after the men began the ritual, which involves tying leather straps and small wooden boxes to the body.

FBI and customs agents, along with police and fire crews, met the plane at the gate at Los Angeles International Airport.

Airport police say two or three men were escorted off the plane, questioned by the FBI, and released. No arrests were made.

Comments

[Michael Nadata]

05:54 PM on 03/30/2011

amazing. Someone actually responded to me that A- it's inhumane to wear tefillin on a plane? Although he failed to explain why considering it is not harmful, not an imposition, and direct prayer to G-d. B: That suicide bombing is an act of desperation and nothing to do with respect. By gosh! The very way a Hamas advocate earns respect and 'heaven' in their culture IS by suicide bombing- rather homicide bombing. You couldn't be more wrong. Some of their members wait their whole life (quite literally) for the opportunity to blow someone up and sacrifice their life. They think they'll go down in absolute greatness. And Israel's inhuman practices? Maybe you should look at Palestinian human shield practices
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTu-AUE9ycs

[jgronin]

02:43 PM on 03/25/2011

Hi Moderator ; and the reason my answer to debers post is censored is??

jgronin

[Belyeu4190]

01:40 AM on 03/21/2011

There is no law against praying.

[Felipe Chang]

10:14 AM on 03/17/2011

Yeah, you better keep your rituals on the ground.. next time I see someone praying to his Jesus Christ next to me I'm calling the authorities!!!

[Belyeu4190]

01:38 AM on 03/21/2011

Jesus Christ is not their god.

You don't need to e afraid of them unless you are a sniveling coward afraid of your own shadow.

[Felipe Chang]

03:35 AM on 03/21/2011

:( ... seems you didn't got the point...

[Bushwhacked]

02:51 AM on 03/17/2011

Keep your "rituals" on the ground, not on in-flight aircraft. Attention seekers.

[Patriot Games]

07:40 PM on 03/16/2011

Whatever happened to Moisha and Irving? Shake your tochas!

[Ellamenta]

11:51 PM on 03/15/2011

This is just embarrassing. Alaska Airlines should apologize to the passengers, and evidently should give their crews some training about normal religious practices before allowing them to fly anywhere outside of rural Alaska.

[alanposting]

04:57 PM on 03/16/2011

What are you talking about?..."normal religious practices" on an airline....not on my flight. Let people do their religious rituals at home. What if it had been time for the milk baths and bags over the womens heads.

[soybeaner]

05:04 AM on 03/17/2011

There is nothing "normal" about that practice.

[A Radical Moderate]

01:42 PM on 03/15/2011

Uhm, im sorry but getting up and affixing leather and wood to ones self is in fact some cause for concern and at least temporary detainment while people figure out what the heck you are doing.

[jonmayer18]

03:50 AM on 03/17/2011

You are misguided. The "wood" is 1 inch by 1 inch and thie leather wraps are insubstantial too. These guys pray three times a day.

See
http://worldhistoryatyhs.wikispaces.com/file/view/tefillin.jpg/32310725/tefillin.jpg

Not threatening.

[Belyeu4190]

01:41 AM on 03/21/2011

Little boxes scare you?

[jerryfromcalifornia]

11:23 AM on 03/15/2011

Well it was Alaska Airlines, they probably have never even seen a Jew.

[Annette Rubin]

02:09 PM on 03/25/2011

That explains it!

[Cory111]

09:45 AM on 03/15/2011

I was in a plane and things were relly looking bad. Someone shouted out, "Someone do something religious before we die" so I passed the hat. Fortunately we landed safely and I ended up making enough to pay for the trip.

[casualman]

07:10 AM on 03/15/2011

Excuse me. Did any of the flight attendants (the ones that are brighter than a small appliance lightbulb that is) think about asking the men what they were doing? Obviously not, because that would take some common sense which I must say after traveling for over 40 years, I see less and less of everyday in flight crews at AlaskaAir. Instead it's easier to panic, press the TERRORIST alarm scenario and waste immense amounts of Police, Fire and FBI resources not to mention the additional stress that the other passengers were put through. Maybe next time attendants, get your head out of your you know what, start treating passengers for what they are (your meal ticket) and do your job which is to observe, ask questions and not panic. I have many friends who are experienced flight crews who also complain about the current crop of cabin crews that leave their common sense on the ground. This sounds like just one of those cases.

[Sasa Milosevic]

03:49 PM on 03/15/2011

Obvious it was enough female's word !
Female's against the male's word.
Is that democracy?
No it is sex discrimination !

[Sasa Milosevic]

03:51 PM on 03/15/2011

Sorry, wrong article !

[mrkurtzhedead]

01:54 AM on 03/15/2011

"...the ritual, which involves tying leather straps and small wooden boxes to the body."

And people get angry and say I lack respect when I laugh at religion.

[He Bre]

07:53 AM on 03/15/2011

ha ha ha

[Taxim]

08:03 AM on 03/15/2011

But they were really special little boxes.

[GraphicMatt]

10:13 AM on 03/16/2011

The boxes contain prayers, so to them yes, they are special.

[YOKEL13]

01:38 AM on 03/15/2011

I just wish Juan Williams had been on board.

[jsgaetano]

01:17 PM on 03/15/2011

To do what, blame everything on NPR?

[YOKEL13]

07:05 PM on 03/15/2011

To put things in perspective! ;)

[WTFbush]

11:32 PM on 03/14/2011

i think that if i had been on that plane that i would have been terrified.

when ever i am terrified like that, you know with the thought of dying, i can assiure you that i will ritualisticaly (a prescribed code of behavior regulating social conduct) do everything to nuetralize any threat

[Sasa Milosevic]

09:38 PM on 03/14/2011

Any religious act out of home, family and religious objects is an inappropriate act especially on places where it may seriously upset other people, as it was on Alaska Airlines flight. Someone's religiosity is not justification to be personalized any non-religious public place for any ritual. Law must be respected.

[Chico41]

09:28 AM on 03/15/2011

That's exactly it. I have no problem with religion, until it leaves the privacy of the home. People can practice any crazy ritual they want behind closed doors, but that's where it needs to stay. Religion and modern society are not compatible with one another, and if we can't completely eliminate religion from the planet, then these people need to realize that there's no place for it in public view.

[Sasa Milosevic]

10:16 AM on 03/15/2011

Religion is same as sex. The matter of intimacy.

[deber]

01:00 PM on 03/15/2011

Praying in public isn't against the law. What law was being broken?

Also, if their act offended someone, it is that person's fault that they are ignorant about the ritual of tifillin. It isn't a dangerous practice...it is praying. If a Christian started praying from the Bible people would be having a far different reaction to this story.

Also, eliminating religion further from the public sphere isolates it even more, making it more dangerous and more radical. I am not advocating for prayer in school here, but not being able to pray in public!? I mean, have you all read the Constitution?

[Proud Mary]

02:45 PM on 03/15/2011

Amen! (No pun intended) I've been on a plane where 3 young Christian men in adjacent seats prayed from the bible. I was next to one of them. They weren't loud and I don't think anyone even looked to see what was going on.

I wonder what would happen if a couple of Catholics prayed the rosary aloud on a plane.

[Sasa Milosevic]

03:43 PM on 03/15/2011

Deber, each religion group has public place for praying. Its religious objects. Plane IS NOT public place for ritualistic movement. If they sat on their seats and prayed, no one would say them any words. The plane serve for transport of passengers not for various religious rituals. Can you imagine if all passengers or majority of them started to carrie out the religious procedures in plane relying on your attitude. ?! O my God. Christians, Muslims, Jews. It would not be plane any more... If you think it is normal act in plane, why then not call them to be so normal in your house. You will not for sure. Because you know very well they violated the law of health behavior in public.