The big three airlines, American, Delta and United have something in common, other than Boeing aircraft. All of America's airlines, those that still serve food, give their passengers cheap plastic knives to eat with for "security" reasons. The plastic knives are "safe" by politically correct standards.

Then why does the most secure airline in the world, El Al, still give its passengers a full set of silverware including knives? During a full dinner service from New York to Tel Aviv each Business Class passenger is presented with a full complement of dinner utensils which includes three metal knives if the small butter knife is counted.

Perhaps El Al gives their passengers real knives and forks instead of the politically correct plastic version used on American carriers because the airline is confident it has not boarded any undesirables who would use the knives as weapons. What makes El Al managers so self-assured? El Al profiles its passengers.

El Al would not pat down Al Gore or demand to x-ray the shoes of former Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel as has occurred on our domestic airlines. El Al uses its limited security resources on individuals who profile as possible threats to the airline. El Al profiles by race, national origin, age, gender, religion and even politics. A young Arab man with a beard and the Koran in his hand is going to get far more attention from the airline's security services than is the 70-year-old wife of a rabbi.

The very thought of these profiling techniques raises the hair on the head of every ACLU attorney. Civil libertarians cry out that just because an individual is a sworn enemy of our nation is no reason to refuse him the hospitality of our airlines.

Americans need to face the cold hard fact that there are indeed those who not only want to destroy our way of life, but to take our lives as well. The only way to keep our airlines safe from terrorism is to identify those who share common traits with terrorists. Plastic knives are not the solution.

About those plastic knives: If a plastic knife can cut an airline steak, it can cut your throat.

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Christians also victims of Islamic terror

William J. Murray is chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the restoration of religious freedom in the United States as envisioned by the authors of the Constitution.