Airline Bomb Scare Caused By Jewish Teenager's Prayers

A Jewish prayer object known as tefillin (above) caused a plane to divert from its destination of Kentucky to Philadelphia, when the object was mistaken for an explosive device. A 17-year-old boy on US Airways Express Flight 3079 traveling from New York to Louisville was attempting to use the object during the flight.

FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver said, "It's something that the average person is not going to see very often, if ever."

According to Wikipedia, "the hand-tefillin, or shel yad, is placed on the upper arm, and the strap wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers; while the head-tefillin, or shel rosh, is placed above the forehead, with the strap going around the head and over the shoulders."

Although the teenager explained the device to crew members when questioned, the captain of the flight decided to divert to Philadelphia anyway. Flight 3079 left LaGuardia Airport in New York around 7:30 AM, and landed in Philadelphia about 90 minutes later. There, it was met by police and officials from the FBI and Transportation Security Administration.

The White Plains, NY teen, who was traveling with his 16-year-old sister, was very cooperative, and neither were booked into custody. Both were allowed to continue on their way, and passengers on the flight were re-booked on other flights.

Documents Out Ahmadinejad as Having Jewish Roots: Report

A report by the Telegraph purports to have solid evidence that Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has Jewish roots. The proof? A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 which the site states clearly displays the evidence.

The Telegraph notes that a close-up of the document reveals Ahmadinejad previously had the surname Sabourjian, which is a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver. A short note on the ID card, according to the Telegraph, suggests that Adhmadinejad's family changed their name when they converted to Islam after his birth.

According to the report, the name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran's Ministry of the Interior. It might also explain a great deal about Ahmadinejad's statements of denial about the existence of the Holocaust.

Ali Nourizadeh, of the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, seems to believe this is why Ahmadinejad is so vehement about Israel and Judaism.

"Every family that converts into a different religion takes a new identity by condemning their old faith. By making anti-Israeli statements he is trying to shed any suspicions about his Jewish connections. He feels vulnerable in a radical Shia society."

Allegations of Ahmadinejad's Jewish history have been floating around since Mehdi Khazali, the son of Ayatollah Khazali, called for an investigation into the Iranian president's family origins on a blog. Khazali was later arrested amid protests of Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election.