On Twitter, the small communication and PR agency proprietor stirred up controversy by criticizing John F. Kennedy International Airport employees for what she claims is a habit of overtly harassing Orthodox Jewish visitors.
On the afternoon of March 8th, strategist Liz Mair used social media to share her experiences at JFK. She claimed to have seen “serious anti-Semitic behavior” from airport staff, with Transportation Security Administration officials being particularly unpleasant.
Mair revealed that she was one of a group of travelers singled out for rigorous inspection based on appearances or having names that had a Jewish tone to them. Her last name frequently leads people to believe she is Jewish.
According to Mair’s thread, security personnel treated anyone they thought to be Jewish with blatant hostility and subjected them to lengthy delays, rudeness, and additional security steps.
After passing through security at JFK, Mair claimed she immediately posted her diatribe from an airport lounge on Twitter.
According to Mair, who was on her way to Egypt with her little child, many Orthodox Jews were departing from JFK’s Terminal 1 for destinations in Europe; several of these individuals she later observed waiting to board a flight to Munich.
A woman was ordered to take off her wig, though whether that request was carried out is unknown. Mair reportedly observed Jewish visitors being subjected to undue scrutiny.
A female traveler standing next to Mair in line was told to remove all items covering her head. TSA agents appeared surprised to learn that what they initially believed to be a wig was the traveler’s hair.
Moreover, Mair observed an Orthodox guy who appeared to be in his 80s being told to remove many layers of clothes, even though TSA screening procedures let individuals 75 and older leave their shoes and light coats on as they walk through security.
Mair hopes that despite her Twitter thread being watched more than 370,000 times in less than 40 hours, it will acquire traction on social media.
I was disappointed that it wasn’t covered more, said Mair. “People need to take this issue more seriously because it is serious. Anti-Semitism seems to receive a lot of ambivalence these days, which disgusts me.
Since this is the third time in a row that I’ve witnessed major anti-Semitic behavior from @JFKairport staff— especially but not only TSA— I’m going on a rant about it.
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) March 8, 2023
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