And here's a fact that most people probably don't know: The vast majority of hotels in America are owned by Indians and Pakistani.

I doubt the Feds raised the alarm because of Passover. It's not until mid-April. They probably have more specific knowledge.

I know its off topic, but -- how is it celebrated in Israel?

Sir, I think the very fact you had this idea - and that Instapundit is getting into the general circulation - may well have prevented this. You should be damned proud of yourself - I hate to say this, but you are a freakin' hero, sir.

The seder is only on the first day of Passover in Israel, and it only lasts for seven days, not eight.

"The vast majority of hotels in America are owned by Indians and Pakistani."

A saying I've heard is that 'the Patels own the Motels'. But, do they own hotels as well, or is that mainly large corps like Hilton?

And, more importantly, what does it matter? Are you trying to say that they might unknowingly hire staff from their home countries who will turn out to be terrorists, or are you saying that the owners of these hotels would themselves be in on the plot to murder guests?

Megan:
Dave is right. Most holidays have an extra day when observed outside of Israel.

Just that there aren't many Jewish-owned hotels. But I don't think they'll be heading for the Motel 6 chains, and no, it wasn't derogatory in any sense of the world.

I used to work for HFS (now Cendant), which owns several major hotel chains, and learned how powerful the Asian lobby is in the industry.

There are a number of hotels, especially in upstate New York, that have special Seders on Passover. You may have a point that the terrorists would find them a perfect target. But again, Passover doesn't begin until April 16th. There could be a world of change--literally--by then.

I'll come back to this tomorrow, Dr. Manhattan. It's been a long day for me.

Jewish owned hotels?
The Jewish Pritzker family owns Hyatt.

I don't know where Newsweek got the idea that the owner of the pubs in Bali was Jewish. The owner is I Gede Wiratha, which is a Balinese name. See this story in today's Singapore Straits Times: http://www.straitstimes.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,171395,00.html?

FYI - I'm on a business trip to Boston this week, staying at the Four Seasons up on Beacon Hill. Having been there a couple times before, I noticed that security now is much tighter. There is an armed guard sitting in front of the elevator bank, checking the IDs/room keys of all people trying to enter the elevators.

Interesting. Can I hijack the thread again to ask why?

In times past, before accurate means of timekeeping, it was impossible for Jews in lands far from Israel to know exactly when sunset occurred in the Holy Land. In order to avoid ending a holiday observance too soon, it was extended for an extra day.

'Twasn't sunset. It was the declaration of the new moon, setting the first day of the month. Sunset is sunset wherever you are.

quote from a PBS interview with Ali Al-Ahmed, executive director of the Saudi Institute:
"...the hijackers, 15 hijackers who are Saudis, they studied this thinking -- destructive thinking -- in Saudi Arabia. They spent a few months in Afghanistan. But they lived their life, they studied this in government mosques. [..] Government curriculum inspired what happened in New York."
and what will happen again and again until we:
1. as Daniel Pipes has been saying, cut the political correctness and call a spade a spade.
2. militarily crush the terrorist cells and the governments that spawn them
2. cut off the flow of our money to the terrorists.

Meryl, I'm not sure how your observation that Passover is a ways off contradicts Dr. M's basic theory. I agree with your basic point: that the warning is about now, not two months from now, but I am positive that the FBI is taking the possibility of a copycat Passover massacre very, very seriously.

I hope you're right, Diane.

Just to add to the sense of gloom, why not the Bar-mitzvah or Bat-mitzvah of some prominent family? I expect it would be reasonably well publicized, lots of folks moving in and out, and so on. The temple or the reception hall could be a target. God Forbid, OK, but there it is.

Sure, that's possible. They've certainly done smaller-scale attacks in the past, and their Palestinian cohorts hit a Bat Mitzva in Hadera last year.
But if you're looking for an opportunity for multiple, simultaneous attacks, for times scheduled years in advance and at locations advertised months in advance (I've never seen a bar mitzva advertised in the paper in advance), I think my scenario better fits that bill.
I don't want to minimize the likelihood of your scenario, though.

All the major synagogues and the JCC on 76th and Amsterdam have large cinderblocks protecting them. I don't know what they are called, so I call them cinderblocks.

you're a moron for disclosing such explicit info about Passover. whether it's true or not, no one needs to know.
the people that need to know already know.
you're as bad as some of these movie producers that give ideas for terrorism.
Silence is golden!

Diana: those cinderblock-type things are either dragon's teeth (http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/afv/bunkers/dragonsteeth.html), which are designed to stop cars and such, or just plain old jersey barriers.

And Tad, the Four Seasons is in Back Bay - you're not yet up here on the Hill =)

Peter, these seders are advertized in Jewish newspapers which are sold on the streets of NYC, often from newstands run by central or south Asian people (I don't know where exactly). It's not like it's a big secret.

i think that jewish schools should have more security -