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For Israelis and Jews in the U.A.E., an Eroding Sense of Security

The Emirates’ reputation as a haven was shaken by what the authorities said was a plot last month aimed at crashing a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

© Katarina Premfors for The New York Times

Tamar Smulowicz, an Israeli citizen, moved to the United Arab Emirates after the two countries normalized relations. But regional wars and domestic threats are testing a sense of safety for Israelis and Jews.

Flydubai captain describes blocking axe blows as co-pilot attacked him

18 October 2026 at 18:27

Capt Smit Machchhar said he screamed for help as he reached to open the cockpit door on flight FZ1073

The captain of a flydubai flight who was attacked by a co-pilot who intended to crash the plane has described ⁠blocking axe blows to his head and screaming for help as he reached to open the cockpit door.

Capt Smit ⁠Machchhar has been hailed ⁠as a ​hero for his role in averting disaster on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv last month, helping to thwart what the UAE ⁠attorney general has said was an attempted suicide attack by the co-pilot who had intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion airport.

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© Photograph: Israel's Foreign Ministry/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Israel's Foreign Ministry/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Israel's Foreign Ministry/AFP/Getty Images

Flydubai captain recalls struggle to open cockpit door during attempted terror attack

17 October 2026 at 21:34
Indian pilot Smit Machchhar says he kept thinking to himself, 'you can't die like this,' as he struggled to alert others that he was being attacked with an axe by his Omani copilot

Panic aboard flight FZ1073 to Tel Aviv: ‘We’ve just neutralized the terrorist. We need help’

1 October 2026 at 10:04

It was 8.22 a.m. on Wednesday when, aboard Flydubai flight FZ1073 between Dubai and Tel Aviv, the aircraft suddenly lost altitude, began jerking violently and a woman in the front started screaming. “They’re killing him, they’re killing him!” Many of the 174 passengers wondered what had provoked that hysterical outburst, since it initially seemed to be nothing more than severe turbulence.

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© Ohad Zwigenberg (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli passengers from the Flydubai flight arrive at Tel Aviv airport, September 30.
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