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A passenger discovered a handwritten note that read ‘F*** Israel‘ in her checked baggage after arriving in Tel Aviv from the US. Noa Sabar Dvoskin was traveling with her family from Seattle to Tel Aviv and had departed from Seattle on 
Alaska Airlines before connecting onto an El Al flight in Los Angeles to Tel Aviv.
After discovering the note, the individual said they felt sickened, scared, and uneasy, then checked through the rest of her belongings to make sure nothing had been taken or damaged. Complaints have been filed with 
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and 
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), the US Embassy in Israel, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
A Sour Ending To A Vacation In The United States
Dvoskin had been visiting Seattle with family, including her young children, after moving from the city to Israel two years ago. When she located the note, she says she was horrified but relieved that her children did not see it. The incident also raised concerns about the security of checked baggage and whether the individual responsible could have had an opportunity to place something more dangerous inside a passenger’s luggage.
This incident comes just months after an El Al flight from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv was delayed when ground staff discovered ‘Free Palestine’ stickers had been placed on airport equipment. This resulted in the plane being unloaded and baggage being re-screened due to security concerns.
The journey from Seattle via Los Angeles to Tel Aviv was on a single ticket through a codeshare agreement that Alaska Airlines holds with El Al, permitting passengers to travel with one reservation and checked baggage without needing to re-check it on the departing flight at the busy California airport.
Passenger Reaction to Alaska Airlines Baggage Incident
Dvoskin reiterated how upset and disgusted she was after discovering the note, and that she had ‘never thought about this kind of thing happening on an airline,’ after speaking with American news agency JNS about the incident. Flight details are below:
Date | August 22, 2026 |
|---|---|
Airline | Alaska Airlines, then El Al |
Flight Number (SEA-LAX) | AS583 |
Flight Number (LAX-TLV) | LY106 |
The Alaska Airlines codeshare agreement with EL AL also includes a reciprocal frequent-flyer partnership covering flights between North America and Israel. El Al places its flight code on select domestic Alaska Airlines flights, and eligible itineraries can see EL AL flights accrue miles towards the Alaska Airlines frequent-flyer program, Atmos Rewards.
El Al maintains nonstop flights from Tel Aviv to five destinations in the United States: New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), and Boston (BOS). It will add San Francisco (SFO) as its sixth US gateway, resuming in October this year.
Tampering With Checked-In Luggage
The unsettling incident for Dvoskin raises questions about how the note came to be inside her checked baggage and whether her luggage was accessed without authorization during its journey. Airport security staff are expected to follow strict protocols if baggage needs to be searched, while deliberately tampering with baggage is a crime.
Unauthorized access could result in belongings being stolen or damaged, while the insertion of prohibited items or hazardous materials could create a far more serious security risk. This recent incident involving the Alaska Airlines and El Al passenger comes just months after the Free Palestine incident at LAX, raising concerns over baggage security and handling procedures at both SEA and LAX.
For Dvoskin, discovering the note in her checked baggage only after arriving home in Israel put a sour ending to what had otherwise been an enjoyable family vacation in Seattle. The Los Angeles native had returned to the United States with her family after moving to Israel two years ago, making the discovery an especially unsettling end to her trip.
