We Can 'Defuse' Them

When young Caleb Leibowitz and his sister boarded US Airways flight to Louisville, KY, he didn't have time to say his morning prayers before he boarded his flight, so after take off he pulled out his Tefillin ( 2 small black boxes with black straps attached to them; Jewish men are required to place one box on their head and tie the other one on their arm each weekday morning.), and began to pray. That is when the trouble began.

A US Airways crew panicked by a Jewish teen's prayer ritual aborted a flight from LaGuardia Airport on Thursday, landing in Philadelphia amid unfounded fears of a terrorist bomb.

The trouble began when the 17-year-old White Plains youth pulled out two small Scripture-filled boxes used for his morning prayers on the Louisville, Ky.-bound plane, authorities said.

The frightened boy and his sister, headed for a four-day visit with their grandmother, were instead greeted in the City of Brotherly Love by bomb-sniffing dogs, police and the FBI.

The teen's grandmother said the 7:25 a.m. flight didn't allow time for him to pray before leaving New York.

"He hadn't had the opportunity to pray, so that is why he did it on the plane," said Frances Winchell.

The leather boxes, joined by a strap and known as tefillin, are placed on the head and the left arm. The straps apparently were mistaken for wires running from a box, authorities said.

The flight attendant, unaware of the religious ritual, notified the pilot of a potential problem when the teen put one of the boxes on his head.

Read more here.

I do hope that the Leibowitz family will take US Airways to court over this.  The flight crew over reacted on this. A young JEWISH man wrapping Tefillin around his head and arm, placing a prayer shawl over his shoulders, and praying is not going to harm your flight.

Just like this ad for El Al claims:

(IsraelNN.com) The ad agency for Israel's national carrier, El Al Airlines, has raced to take advantage of an incident one week ago in which a Jewish teen was taken off a U.S. domestic flight after he began to don a pair of tefillin, or phylacteries.

"Fly with us! Our cabin crew will know how to "defuse" them..." the advertisement for El Al Airlines jocularly proclaims in English, with a full-color photo of the tefillin against a mild blue sky.

The tefillin, a set of small leather boxes that are black in color and contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with Bible verses, worn by Jewish men during weekday morning prayers, apparently ignited suspicions among the cabin crew and passengers on the small domestic U.S. Airways flight that the boy was a would-be suicide bomber.

The plane changed its flight plan and immediately diverted to Philadelphia, where police escorted the 17-year-old “suspect” off the aircraft, which parked in a remote section of the tarmac at Philadelphia International Airport.

It is not really clear whether the “ad” is, in fact, a legitimate ad; AgencySpy editor Matt Van Hoven writes on the Media Bistro creative website that even he has been unable to track down the whereabouts of the elusive “real” advertising agency for El Al Airlines.

“Though this feels fake, it remains awesome,” Van Hoven comments. “Can someone please tell us the origin of this advertisement... If it's really from El Al, it proves the long-standing belief that the Jewish faith is the source of all things awesome in the world, most notably, humor.”

If this is a fake ad, it is well done.  But I have a sneaky suspicion that this is an in house joke.  Either way it brings home the same message:

"We understand security better than you!"

Fired For Praying Is Reinstated After Her Hearing

Caroline Petrie, a nurse from Weston-super-Mare, Great Britain, was reinstated with pay to her job at North Somerset Primary Care Trust. But why was she fired? She offered to pray for a 70 year old patient. The patient wasn't offended nor did the patient take out a complaint. But the Hospital was offended. Why? Isn't prayer useful when one is ill? Don't most people pray for the recovery of a loved one? What is so wrong with offering to pray for someone?

Caroline Petrie, an evangelical Christian from Weston-super-Mare, was subjected to disciplinary action by North Somerset Primary Care Trust even though the patient was not offended and made no complaint.

Petrie, who was supported by the Christian Legal Centre, was summoned last week to a disciplinary hearing on the charge that she had failed to demonstrate a "personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity."

North Somerset Primary Care Trust said Thursday that it recognized Petrie, a mother of two, had been acting in the "best interests of her patients" and that nurses did not have to "set aside their faith" in the workplace and could "continue to offer high-quality care for patients while remaining committed to their beliefs."

It also conceded that for some people prayer was an "integral part of health care and the healing process."

Sir Patrick Cormack, the Tory MP for South Staffordshire and a committed Anglican, told Parliament that the case illustrated the “utter absurdities” of political correctness.

"This is a great victory for Petrie, and for common sense," Andrea Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre, said. "Today’s decision highlights the importance of being able to take personal faith into the workplace rather than being forced to leave it at the door for fear of being silenced by equality and diversity policies."

The turnaround by the trust comes amid a tightening up by government on how far public sector workers can go in communicating their faith.

According to a document published by the Department of Health last month, any attempt by a doctor or nurse to proselytize during the course of their work is to be considered harassment or intimidation and will be subject to disciplinary procedures.

Offering to pray for someone, or to call a chaplain to sit with a patient is not proselytizing. It is giving aid and comfort to a patient. Just as a patient asking someone to read the Bible to them. Prayer is considered part of the healing process.

I wonder if she would have been fired if she was a Muslim wearing this get-up:


Could you imagine this coming into your room to change your bedpans? Or in the operating room? ICU? Maternity Ward? What would you think? Would you check your charts to see if you had a contagious disease or were dying of something really horrible? I would.

Congratulations Nurse Petrie for standing up for prayer. And this time winning.