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B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M
THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME
SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Is the Person Sitting Next to You on Your Flight Really a Yeshiva Bochur? How Undercover Agents are Protecting the Skies BY TZVI LEFF
On
September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers boarded four domestic U.S. flights departing from three airports along the East Coast. Approximately a half-hour after lift-off, the al-Qaeda terrorists rushed the cockpits, easily overpowering the respective flight crews and taking control of the aircraft. The tragic results are well-known. The hijackers piloted two of the passenger jets into the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, causing a massive explosion that eventually toppled the gleaming skyscrapers and killed 2,605 Americans. A little over an hour later, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon’s outermost ring, incinerating all passengers aboard along with another 54 soldiers. Flight 93, the final plane still in the air, was famously brought down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers heroically decided to rush the cockpit. As the sun set on the infamous day, 2,996 Americans had perished. The world was forever changed. Authorities tasked with investigating the deadly attack were astonished at the relative ease with which the terrorists managed to gain control over the aircraft. As highlighted in the ensuing 9/11 Commission Report, the jihadis had been armed with only boxcutters and an assortment of crude knives. All 19 terrorists had faced little resistance commandeering the airplanes despite being relatively lightly armed. The cockpits were not hardened and the pilots were unarmed; with the exception of Flight 93, none of the hijackers had faced any resistance from either flight crew or passengers. “We do not know exactly how the hijackers gained access to the cockpit. FAA rules required that the doors remain closed and locked during flight. Some speculated that they had ‘jammed their way’ in,” stated the 9/11 Commission Report. “Perhaps the terrorists stabbed the flight attendants to get a cockpit key, to force one of them to open the cockpit door, or to lure the captain or first officer out of the cockpit.” Thirteen months later, an El Al flight was readying for its final descent to Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport when Tawfiq Fukra rushed the cockpit. Brandishing a knife he had smug-
gled aboard hidden in his belt, the 23-year-old Israeli Arab screamed about the downtrodden Palestinian nation as he ran down the aisle. But before he could make it to the first-class cabin, two undercover security guards sprang into action. Drawing the small pistols they had concealed throughout the flight, they wrestled Fukra to the ground and slapped handcuffs on him; the entire episode had taken less than 20 seconds. Fukra later told interrogators that he had hoped to hijack the airplane. Inspired by the events on 9/11, the Islamist had hoped to fly the jet into Tel Aviv’s Azrieli Towers to raise awareness for the Palestinian cause. But, unlike on 9/11, no one was hurt thanks to the quick-thinking actions of Israel’s elite undercover sky marshals. Commonly freshly-demobilized soldiers from IDF special forces units, these security guards train endlessly for this exact scenario: stopping an in-progress hijacking attempt and preventing terrorists from gaining control of the aircraft.
Israel’s
entire air marshal program is shrouded in secrecy. Virtually nothing is known about the undercover security guards, and active members are forbidden from being photographed, from having social media accounts, and from revealing the true nature of their job to friends and family. This unit of airborne commandos is overseen by the Shin Bet internal security agency and epitomizes the Shabak’s motto of being “The Unseen Shield.” Despite years of requests, no Israeli television program has ever been granted a behind-the-scenes look at the State Aviation Security Framework, and members both current and former are loath to interview. Israeli sky marshals are widely viewed as the world’s most elite cadre in aviation security and graduate from the most difficult and challenging training course Israel has to offer. Their intensive training, which gives them mastery in Krav Maga, firearms and undercover work, is a key reason why only one Israeli aircraft has ever been hijacked in the
