While Americans argue about which religious minorities belong in our national life, a Hindu of Indian origin captain and Jewish Israeli passengers offered a more consequential answer: They helped keep everyone on board Flydubai Flight FZ1073 alive.
asserted
They → argue → FZ1073
On Sept. 30, Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv became the scene of an apparent attempt to crash a passenger aircraft.
asserted
FZ1073 → become → aircraft
Capt. Smit Machchhar was stabbed by his co-pilot, an Omani national, whose name has not been publicly released.
asserted
name → stab → pilot
Despite his injuries, he opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene.
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passengers → open → door
Additional pilots subsequently landed the aircraft in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
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pilots → land → Tabuk
Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun was among those who rushed forward.
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who → rush → those
He recalled telling the injured captain: “You’re not going to die today.”
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You → recall → captain
An Indian pilot opened the door.
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pilot → open → door
Israeli passengers went through it.
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passengers → go → it
Their cooperation helped turn a possible catastrophe into a story of survival.
asserted
cooperation → help → survival
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Omani co-pilot had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination, while cautioning that final conclusions had not been reached.
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conclusions → say → indoctrination
The United Arab Emirates is investigating possible terrorist links.
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Emirates → investigate → links
The motive remains under investigation.
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motive → remain → investigation
The rescue already offers a lesson America should absorb.
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America → offer → lesson
Last year, I completed a successful speaking tour dedicated to building bridges between the Hindu and Jewish diaspora communities on behalf of HinduACTion.
asserted
I → complete → HinduACTion
The tour helped educate people about shared threats from radical leftists, radical right-wing white supremacists and Islamists.
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tour → help → leftists
We spoke in Washington, D.C., Maryland, New York, Ohio, Texas, Palo Alto, and Beverly Hills about confronting shared threats.
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We → speak → threats
To my knowledge, I was the first person to undertake a speaking tour across the United States specifically organized around a Hindu-Jewish alliance against those three threats.
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I → undertake → threats
My message was straightforward: Communities facing overlapping forms of hatred should build relationships before a crisis forces them to depend on one another.
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crisis → face → one
The cooperation aboard Flight FZ1073 reinforces the importance of that work.
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cooperation → reinforce → work
Solidarity has consequences far beyond a conference room.
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Solidarity → have → room
Hindus, Jews, and Christians have compelling reasons to stand together against movements that make religious identity grounds for persecution.
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identity → have → persecution
Their traditions differ.
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traditions → differ → ?
Their shared interest in protecting life, religious freedom, and peaceful assimilation is substantial.
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interest → share → life
An alliance requires recognizing a common danger and refusing to leave one another exposed.
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alliance → require → one
Sadly, I have seen certain groups who have yet to stand up and confront the dangers within their own diaspora communities.
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who → see → communities
And yet, parts of the American Right and Left seem determined to turn potential allies into enemies.
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parts → seem → enemies
Groypers, or radical right-wingers, who treat Jews and Hindus as outsiders, weaken the country they claim to defend.
uncertain
they → treat → country
Activists on the Left do the same when they excuse antisemitism as resistance or treat Hindu identity as evidence of political guilt.
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they → do → guilt
Criticizing Israeli policy or Indian politics is legitimate.
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Criticizing → criticize → policy
Holding entire religious communities and nationalities responsible substitutes collective suspicion for judgment.
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Holding → hold → judgment
Christians concerned about religious freedom should defend Jewish and Hindu neighbors.
asserted
Christians → defend → neighbors
Progressives invoking solidarity should oppose persecution even when the victims challenge their political assumptions.
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victims → invoke → assumptions
Islamist expansionism threatens people who refuse its authority, including Muslims themselves.
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who → threaten → Muslims
Confronting it requires identifying its doctrines and networks accurately and strengthening cooperation among those resisting it.
asserted
Confronting → confront → it
The Abraham Accords made the Dubai-Tel Aviv connection possible through UAE-Israel normalization.
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connection → make → normalization
Saudi Arabia is not a signatory, but the flight’s emergency landing there offered a glimpse of the wider regional cooperation we should want more often: Israelis and their Arab neighbors working together to preserve life.
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Israelis → offer → life
Washington should demand a thorough investigation and examine cockpit security.
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Washington → demand → security
At home, Americans should reject efforts to isolate Jewish and Hindu communities whose freedom is bound up with our own.
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freedom → reject → own
The people aboard Flight FZ1073 needed courage, competence, and someone willing to act.
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people → need → courage
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
