Flying kippot

Yaron London says kippot are not just innocent head coverings, warning signs
Observant residents in Eilat complained last week they were unfairly singled out by Ariels bodyguards while the prime minister was speaking.
At the same time, the streets of Eilat were burning with an orange-shirted anti-Sharon demonstration, but not all of those turned away from the Sharon speech were wearing orange.
The reason for the slight is clear: the kippah is no longer an innocent head covering, but a warning sign, presumably because it identifies the wearer as a potential danger.
I assume that this is exactly how Israeli Arabs feel every time they are subjected to careful security checks at malls, restaurants around Israel. The accent, skin color, and mustache present a picture that security forces have learned to identify as dangerous.
So, too, it is for the religious: the kippa, the flying tzitzit readily identify the fanatic settler and his followers.
The technical name for this phenomenon is “profiling”, and it is fair enough, if not very nice. But political is a luxury for calmer societies than ours, and after Sept. 11, even the Americans-- the champions of political correctness - asked Israeli security forces to train Americans fine art of profiling.
Of course, the vast majority of individuals with a certain profile have done nothing wrong, but it pays to be careful.
Which brings us to the essential issue at hand: the connection between primitive belief systems and educated guesses based on assumptions.
If a white American is suspicious of everyone with slightly different skin pigmentation, he is called a racist. But an insurance company that refused to insure an apartment in the center of a heavily black, inner neighborhood would obviously have made a sensible business choice.