The foiled hijacking of a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying 174 passengers — 166 of them Israelis — on Wednesday has revived the specter of earlier hijackings (mostly attempted) of aircraft bound for Israel, especially during the 1960s and 1970s.

Although associated with the past, Israel still treats such attempts as a current threat. Its flag carrier, El Al, maintains strict security measures, ranging from plainclothes security officers on board, a double-door system to access the cockpit, and extensive passenger interrogations conducted by its own staff at departure airports. If an interrogation raises even the slightest suspicion, some travelers are forced to board stripped of their personal belongings.

The precedents involve planes from that airline, although only the first, in 1968, succeeded. The flight, which operated between Rome and Tel Aviv, departed late due to technical problems with just 38 passengers aboard — seven of them El Al employees or their relatives — and 10 crew members. Near Naples it was hijacked by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Marxist-inspired armed group that forced the aircraft to divert to Algiers. They demanded the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in exchange for the hostages.

Barely 24 hours later, it released the 23 passengers of other nationalities. Later, it freed the 10 women and children. Thus, 12 Israeli men remained as prisoners of the Algerian government (which was technically at war with Israel). Aligned with the Palestinian cause, and in the midst of the Cold War, Algerian authorities eventually demanded the release of all Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The Israelis who had been hijacked were finally moved to a luxurious villa where they could follow news of the negotiations for their release on radio and in newspapers. Meanwhile, the Israeli military devised a rescue plan under the orders of the famed defense minister, Moshe Dayan. The hijacking lasted 40 days and ended with the release of 16 Palestinian prisoners, a move Israel described as a “humanitarian gesture.”

In 1970 one of the most notorious attempts occurred, notable for the status its perpetrator attained (Leila Khaled, the first woman to hijack a plane) and because she carried it out alongside Patrick Argüello, a member of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas who later helped overthrow the Somoza dictatorship.

Six years later, at the end of June 1976, an Air France plane flying the Tel Aviv–Paris route with a stop in Athens, carrying 248 passengers and 12 crew, was hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and diverted to Entebbe airport in Uganda. After the initial release of non‑Israeli passengers, most of those who remained on board were freed by Israeli commandos in the early hours of July 4. Four passengers were killed, in addition to the hijackers and one Israeli soldier.

Since then, and until this Wednesday, there had been no new hijacking attempts. Largely, that is because security measures at Israeli airports and on Israeli aircraft have increased exponentially decade by decade, unparalleled anywhere else in the world. There have been attempts to attack planes with explosives, or to fire projectiles at aircraft originating from or destined for Israel. But not hijackings.

In 1986, a Syrian intelligence agent tried to blow up a London–Tel Aviv flight using explosives carried — unbeknown to her — by his girlfriend, who was traveling on that flight. Security agents thwarted his plans.

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The Trump administration’s immigration policy and the state of the economy are prompting a shift of Latino voters back toward the Democrats. Although many remain undecided, a new poll shows that in the November midterms, Democratic congressional candidates will receive between six and 10 percentage points more of the Hispanic vote compared with Kamala Harris’s 2024 results. By contrast, Republicans would lose five points of the votes Trump won among this electorate. On November 3, all seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are up for election, as well as 36 governorships.

That is what the poll conducted by BSP Research and Shaw & Co. for the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) and American Families United (AFU) between September 4 and September 6 reveals, using a sample of 1,353 registered Latino voters in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

According to the survey, in House voting intentions the Republican Party would only hold the same level of support it received in 2024 in the state of Georgia, at 25%, although Democrats would gain three points to reach 63%. In Texas, Republicans would fall one point while Democrats would rise three. In Pennsylvania, the shift compared with the 2024 presidential election is larger: the Democratic Party would increase by 10 points to reach 60% of the Latino vote; the recovery is due to a drop experienced by the Republican Party in that state, which would lose 11 percentage points, falling from 37% to 26%.

Although favorable to Democrats, the Latino vote remains volatile, since neither political party commands overwhelming support: 39% have an unfavorable view of the Democrats in Congress, while 63% have an unfavorable view of the Republicans.

The Democrats’ recovery of part of the historic support they lost among Hispanics in the 2024 elections is driven by the community’s discontent with the state of the economy and with the president’s aggressive anti-immigration agenda.

Latino voters surprised in the last elections by contributing to Trump’s victory. Among Hispanic men, he obtained a majority over his Democratic rival for the first time.

Latinos trusted him to improve their economic situation and secure the border. The first has not been achieved, because the cost of living has soared—partly due to the war in Iran and rising fuel prices; as for the second, the border is secure, but the prevailing perception is that immigration policy has gone too far.

“Immigration is once again becoming a major issue for Latinos. And yes, we believe this is significantly harming Republicans in the current elections,” explained Matt Barreto, who oversaw the survey. “Many of them—as we’ve seen in the polls—say they have a personal connection to someone who is undocumented. They know someone [detained or deported], whether in their family or in their close community; likely even in their own church,” he added.

The poll shows that the majority of Latinos, including those who identify as Republicans, believe the Trump administration’s immigration policy—with the criminalization of migrants who had previously resided here legally, and the mass deportations—has gone too far. Sixty-three percent of Latinos in key states say treatment of immigrants is “one of my main concerns” for 2026, and 59% support creating a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants with family members who are U.S. citizens. Sixty-four percent of Latino Republicans, 68% of independents and 85% of Democrats say they will vote for candidates who prioritize legal status and work permits over mass deportations.

Letter to Trump

The poll’s findings were released during the launch of the Committee of 100’s Unity Campaign, through which more than 200 Hispanic leaders—among them elected officials and representatives of the business, religious, civil rights and community sectors—urge President Trump and congressional leaders to grant work permits and legal protections to long-standing undocumented immigrants.

“We may be MAGA supporters, progressives, or somewhere in between,” they wrote in a new letter to President Trump and congressional leaders. “We are all united in demanding that both Republicans and Democrats in Washington offer long-term solutions for undocumented immigrants who have been here for many years—many of whom have worked, paid taxes and contributed to our communities, families and workplaces for decades—solutions that allow them to live and work legally and without fear.”

Signatories of the letter include Democratic members of Congress such as Representative Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Representatives Sylvia Garcia and Veronica Escobar of Texas, and Republicans such as Florida state senator Ileana Garcia, founder of the group Latinas for Trump.

“Hispanic voters are fed up,” said Massey Villarreal, CEO of Precision Task Group and co-chair of the Committee of 100. “We are losing our workforce because of these deportations. Since January, we have lost 200,000 immigrant workers each month. Simply put, there is no way to sustain our economy without the long-standing immigrants who made our prosperity possible,” he said.

Leaders of several Latino and immigrant organizations, including LULAC, NALEO, UnidosUS, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and America’s Voice, joined the initiative.

Representative Sylvia Garcia criticized that the immigration issue is out of control and emphasized that the poll shows “the disconnect” with citizens, which “lies in the fact that Washington is not doing anything aimed at finding a real solution.” The congresswoman advocated passing the American Dream and Promise Act, which would open a pathway to legalize beneficiaries of DACA and TPS (Temporary Protected Status), programs that have been rescinded by the government.

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