Prayer ritual item (Jewish prayer boxes) mistaken for bomb, jet lands in Philly

[Liberal_in_LA]

Prayer ritual item mistaken for bomb, jet lands in Philly
By Peter Mucha and Allison Steele

Inquirer Staff Writers

A teenager strapping Jewish religious ritual prayer boxes to his head and arm caused a scare on a plane from New York to Kentucky this morning, prompting the pilot to land in Philadelphia, officials said.
Authorities determined there was no threat and the 17-year-old boy and his 16-year-old sister, who live in White Plains, N.Y., were not held.

Flight 3079, a U.S. Airways Express operated by Chautauaqa Airlines, was en route from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Louisville about 8:15 a.m. when a flight attendant saw the youth putting on his tefillin, police said.

Tefillin are leather boxes containing scriptures with leather straps that observant Jewish men wear on their foreheads and arm and fingers during obligatory weekday morning prayers.

Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Joseph Sullivan said the flight attendant became concerned and alerted the pilot.

"It's something they never seen before," Sullivan said.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/82249402.html?cmpid=15585797

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. I understand this, though tells me more

of how far we have surrendered to terror.

[treestar]

2. I've never heard of that before

Is it uncommon?

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. The prayer boxes? Yes.

[KittyWampus]

4. not in certain areas of Brooklyn. However, I'm sure lots of others have never seen them.

[Solly Mack]

5. Sad

[BlueCollar]

6. Here's the BEEBs story...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8472937.stm

The "terraists" are winning.