In a YouTube video released yesterday, a man is seen wearing traditional Jewish attire in the Queen Alia Airport just outside Amman, Jordan. He stands up, walks to a corner, and with Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) in hand, begins to rock back and forth rhythmically and pray.
So what were the results? Not much really. The man evidently finished prayer at his leisure, got on his flight (perhaps bound for Tel Aviv), and according to local media reports, was not threatened.
Indeed, the Queen Alia Airport features special rooms for prayer that welcome people of all faiths. Nevertheless, in a country that sometimes struggles with anti-Semitism, open and public prayer in its airport is a bold move.
This isn’t the first time that religious Jews have paid visit to Queen Alia International Airport. Given its close proximity to Israel and the presence of Amman-Tel Aviv flights, many Israelis have layovers in the Amman airport before returning home. In 2015, a group of religious Hasidic Jews began to dance and sing in the center of the terminal, drawing ire from many on social media.
As for the people in the airport at the time? Not a single complaint was filed to the airport about the incident, as onlookers appeared more bewildered than angry.
