El Al used racial profiling

Newsday: A Manhattan man said that El Al Israel Airlines, known for its supertough security, went too far in searching him before a flight to Tel Aviv last April, and has filed suit claiming he was singled out and strip-searched because of his race.In the suit filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, Shawn Davis said El Al security officials placed a metal detector in his crotch and between his buttocks after pulling him out of line at Kennedy International Airport. The suit says he was singled out from other passengers because he is "African-American and is not of the Jewish faith" and claims he was subjected to "unlawful discrimination, unjustified detention, humiliation and illegal searches."Cheryl Stein, an El Al spokeswoman in Manhattan, said earlier this week that the airline "maintains the highest level of security at all times and each passenger gets treated equally."Jonathan W. Lubell, Davis' attorney, Thursday declined to discuss the case "in the media." Davis said in the suit -- which calls for at least $8 million in damages -- that he arrived at Kennedy Airport on April 9, 2005 for an El Al flight to Tel Aviv......Davis said he was soon asked by a female El Al employee to step out of line "to answer some questions." He said after being interrogated about the purpose of his trip, Davis was asked to leave his bags with the El Al employee and proceed to a private room.There, Davis said, he was asked to remove his shirt and pants and was frisked with a handheld wand. He said an El Al employee "also protruded the wand [into his] crotch and between his buttocks."Davis said he was the only passenger who was not white.