While America debates who belongs, a Hindu captain and Jewish passengers just stopped a hijacking

While Americans argue about which religious minorities belong in our national life, a Hindu of Indian origin captain and Jewish Israeli passengers offered a more consequential answer: They helped keep everyone on board Flydubai Flight FZ1073 alive.On Sept. 30, Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv became the scene of an apparent attempt to crash a passenger aircraft. Capt. Smit Machchhar was stabbed by his co-pilot, an Omani national, whose name has not been publicly released. Despite his injuries, he opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to intervene. Additional pilots subsequently landed the aircraft in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun was among those who rushed forward. He recalled telling the injured captain: “You’re not going to die today.” IT COULD HAVE BEEN ISRAEL’S 9/11. THE MEDIA CALLED IT A ‘MIDAIR ALTERCATION’An Indian pilot opened the door. Israeli passengers went through it. Their cooperation helped turn a possible catastrophe into a story of survival.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Omani co-pilot had undergone Islamist radical indoctrination, while cautioning that final conclusions had not been reached. The United Arab Emirates is investigating possible terrorist links. The motive remains under investigation.The rescue already offers a lesson America should absorb.Last year, I completed a successful speaking tour dedicated to building bridges between the Hindu and Jewish diaspora communities on behalf of HinduACTion. The tour helped educate people about shared threats from radical leftists, radical right-wing white supremacists and Islamists. We spoke in Washington, D.C., Maryland, New York, Ohio, Texas, Palo Alto, and Beverly Hills about confronting shared threats.To my knowledge, I was the first person to undertake a speaking tour across the United States specifically organized around a Hindu-Jewish alliance against those three threats. My message was straightforward: Communities facing overlapping forms of hatred should build relationships before a crisis forces them to depend on one another.The cooperation aboard Flight FZ1073 reinforces the importance of that work. Solidarity has consequences far beyond a conference room.Hindus, Jews, and Christians have compelling reasons to stand together against movements that make religious identity grounds for persecution. Their traditions differ. Their shared interest in protecting life, religious freedom, and peaceful assimilation is substantial.An alliance requires recognizing a common danger and refusing to leave one another exposed. Sadly, I have seen certain groups who have yet to stand up and confront the dangers within their own diaspora communities.And yet, parts of the American Right and Left seem determined to turn potential allies into enemies.Groypers, or radical right-wingers, who treat Jews and Hindus as outsiders, weaken the country they claim to defend. Activists on the Left do the same when they excuse antisemitism as resistance or treat Hindu identity as evidence of political guilt.Criticizing Israeli policy or Indian politics is legitimate. Holding entire religious communities and nationalities responsible substitutes collective suspicion for judgment.Christians concerned about religious freedom should defend Jewish and Hindu neighbors. Progressives invoking solidarity should oppose persecution even when the victims challenge their political assumptions.Islamist expansionism threatens people who refuse its authority, including Muslims themselves. Confronting it requires identifying its doctrines and networks accurately and strengthening cooperation among those resisting it.The Abraham Accords made the Dubai-Tel Aviv connection possible through UAE-Israel normalization. Saudi Arabia is not a signatory, but the flight’s emergency landing there offered a glimpse of the wider regional cooperation we should want more often: Israelis and their Arab neighbors working together to preserve life.Washington should demand a thorough investigation and examine cockpit security. At home, Americans should reject efforts to isolate Jewish and Hindu communities whose freedom is bound up with our own.The people aboard Flight FZ1073 needed courage, competence, and someone willing to act.SELECTIVE SCRUTINY IS BIGOTRY: THE MANUFACTURED SMEAR OF HINDU AMERICAAmerica needs those qualities, too.A Hindu Indian captain opened the door. Jewish Israeli passengers answered. Every American should recognize the strength in that partnership before another emergency forces the lesson upon us.Adelle Nazarian is a journalist, entrepreneur, and commentator covering politics, culture, technology, and the ideas shaping America.