The U.S. Department of Transportation is reportedly investigating the claim that El Al mistreated Noor Wazwaz, a producer for National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition,” on July 18 due to her Palestinian-American heritage, Business Insider reported.
Via social media, Wazwaz alleged that she underwent five security screenings at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey over the course of seven hours. The main issue seemed to be the ability to take electronics such as her laptop and chargers (and who might have packed or tampered with it, a standard question as part of El Al’s security check), which she describes at length on X/formerly Twitter.
She claimed that El Al refused to board her, calling her a “security risk.”
She eventually flew to Israel via another airline, posting a photo at the “Al Aqsa compound” in Jerusalem on July 18.
In the past, Wazwaz has lauded Islamist terrorists waging war against the Jewish state as “resistance fighters fighting against injustice.” She has also written on social media, “Israel: The 51st state of America. The flag is white and blue. It’s just missing red, but I guess they have Palestinian blood for that.”
Washington is currently monitoring Israel’s border-security policies ahead of a looming deadline for Israel’s admission to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. The U.S. State Department has said that Israel must treat all American citizens equally in order to enter the program.
