It’s been a week since the FlyDubai hijacking, and some very significant things have come to light.
First is that we’re not remotely appreciating enough how much of a miracle it was. This is in turn is for two reasons. One is that most of us don’t know enough about planes. I was reading a post by a pilot who stressed that simply pulling up the controls does not stop a plane from crashing! If they are pulled up too much, then the plane goes into a stall. And of course, if they are not pulled up enough, or in time, then it crashes.
Meanwhile, even once the plane had been pulled up, it is very difficult to fly and certainly to land a large airliner. I’ve flown and landed a light aircraft, and to be honest it wasn’t too difficult (and I’m not a great driver!), but apparently it’s very different with a huge airliner. Had there not been a passenger pilot on the plane who was trained it that particular aircraft, the story would probably not have had a happy ending.
The second reason that we are not appreciating it enough is simply that we take life being good for granted. Most of us didn’t experience 9/11 directly, and so it’s hard to truly appreciate how we avoided such a terrible tragedy. And when nothing bad actually happens - and especially when you weren’t worried about it in advance - you don’t feel the mirror joy image of the grief you would feel if it would have happened. This is unfortunately human nature (and that’s why it’s so important to recite daily prayers of gratitude, and contemplate them).
Such was the extraordinary miracle. But what we have now discovered is that this was also an extraordinary debacle.
I once flew with a non-Jewish TV producer for a show that we were working on (Beasts of the Bible). A frum guy traveling with a non-Jewish woman certainly departed from conventional security profiles, and as a result, we almost didn’t make the flight! The questioning from security officials and their research went on and on. Of course, that’s why we feel safe flying El-Al (along with the air marshal on board).
Meanwhile, this pilot hijacker, Al-Hammami, was from Oman - an Arab state with no ties to Israel. And he had posted radical Islamist views online! And he had even previously been removed from his pilot training track at Oman Air due to concerns of his being an extremist! And he became a pilot with Fly Dubai specifically in order to be able to fly a plane to Israel! And this wasn’t even his first time flying to Israel! How on earth does such an Islamist terrorist get to fly a deadly weapon to Israel?!
And this isn’t even the worst of it.
Far from this being a bizarre rare error on Israel’s part, it’s actually the natural result of a whole stream of gross, utter negligence that others had warned about - just like Meron.
In 2021, the Israeli Security Cabinet legally voted to transfer the responsibility of screening foreign flight crews away from the Shin Bet and directly over to the Transportation Ministry. This was done against the recommendation of many professionals, who pointed out that the Transportation Ministry just wasn’t up to the task. But Miri Regev, the Likud Minister of Transportation, insisted, and the Likud made it happen.
In 2024, a classified intelligence report explicitly flagged the Ministry of Transportation for failing to adequately secure foreign commercial flights entering Israel. It said that the prime minister, transportation minister and finance minister needed to “formulate a comprehensive policy on aviation security.” Nothing was done.
A year later, the Shin Bet attempted to place a specialized officer inside the Transportation Ministry to analyze foreign manifests, but this was rejected. The Shin Bet also offered to train ministry officials on advanced aviation threat modeling, global airport safety classifications, and screening methods, but the ministry failed to implement or accept any of these training programs.
And now that all this has come to light, a flood of negligence that almost led to an Israeli 9/11, has Regev resigned in shame or disgrace? Have the rest of the government called for her ouster? Is there any sign that she is being forced out? Has Bibi taken any responsibility?
Of course not!
All this fits well with the Likud modus operandi that has developed over the last decade (in sharp contrast to how the Likud used to be). Appointments are made and jobs are given out based on loyalty rather than suitability for the job. No responsibility is ever taken or forced on people, even when there are terrible failures. Nobody took responsibility for Meron, the largest civilian disaster in Israel’s history. Bibi hasn’t stepped down after Oct 7, the worst disaster in Israel’s history, and the Likud have successfully blocked a commission of inquiry. And Likud’s goal is to neuter the Supreme Court so that he and his party never have accountability. Likud means never having to say you are sorry.
They’ve been working to influence their voters to feel the same way - to prioritize tribal loyalty over everything else, and to have no sense of responsibility. Yinon Magal, Bibi’s most prominent public advocate, insisting this week that the families of murdered hostages need to apologize to Bibi for holding him accountable for their loss, rather than Bibi needing to apologize to them! In the coming election, we will find out to what extent Likud voters have fallen for this.
For more on all this, read this article at the Times of Israel.