Still Getting Jiggy With It... Unfortunately
The more things change... the more they stay the same...
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli airport security officers made an African American member of the New York-based Alvin Ailey dance troupe perform steps for them before letting him enter the country, the group said on Tuesday.
The group said airport officials had provided no explanation about the treatment of Abdur-Rahim Jackson, who has a Muslim father but is engaged to a fellow dancer who is Jewish with a large family in Israel.
Jackson was pulled aside from the rest of the troupe on arrival at Israel's Ben Gurion airport and taken to a room where he was questioned by the security officers, said a spokesman for the group.
"They asked him who he was and what he does and also about his name. He showed them the group's program with his picture and said he was a dancer," the spokesman said.
"The officers then told him, 'If you are a dancer, then dance', so he showed them some dance moves."
Jackson had no problem with the questioning but was "deeply saddened" by the demand for him to dance, said the spokesman.
No immediate comment was available from Israeli officials.
SOURCE
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli airport security officers made an African American member of the New York-based Alvin Ailey dance troupe perform steps for them before letting him enter the country, the group said on Tuesday.
The group said airport officials had provided no explanation about the treatment of Abdur-Rahim Jackson, who has a Muslim father but is engaged to a fellow dancer who is Jewish with a large family in Israel.
Jackson was pulled aside from the rest of the troupe on arrival at Israel's Ben Gurion airport and taken to a room where he was questioned by the security officers, said a spokesman for the group.
"They asked him who he was and what he does and also about his name. He showed them the group's program with his picture and said he was a dancer," the spokesman said.
"The officers then told him, 'If you are a dancer, then dance', so he showed them some dance moves."
Jackson had no problem with the questioning but was "deeply saddened" by the demand for him to dance, said the spokesman.
No immediate comment was available from Israeli officials.
SOURCE
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