Do Body Scanners Violate Jewish Law? from Planck's Constant

Observant Jews have voiced concerns with the Transportation Security Administration’s plan to expand the use of whole-body imaging machines at airports ¹. They claim such scanning violates the norms of modesty under their interpretation of the laws of Judaism. Let me make it clear to my fellow Jews: it does not.

Jewish Law only applies to Jews. Actions that would be violations if committed by Jews do not affect gentiles. For example, many religious Jews hire a Shabbat goy to perform certain acts on the Sabbath which are forbidden to Jews within Jewish law. One could argue that a religious Jew operating a full body scanner violates Jewish law, a goy doing it certainly does not.

In addition, it has long been established that the safety and life of a Jew trumps any silly observation of Jewish Law. Obviously, no Jewish fireman would be permitted to ignore a fire just because it is the Sabbath. No sane observant Jew would refuse to remove his garments to jump into a lake to save a drowning person. Only an idiot (chassid shoteh - or a member of the species Pious ignoramus) would let someone drown to protect his modesty.

The most important thing one has learned from Judaism is that human life is sacred. It is against Jewish law to observe the law and sacrifice the life.

So my dear fellow Jew, for these two reasons, gentiles are manning the scanners, and your safety and your life at are stake, you can ignore the law regarding modesty and not be in violation of it. If you feel that the law is more important than your life, kindly do not fly. If you are that stupid, then you are stupid enough to put my life in jeopardy as well. I do not want the TSA to stop scanning for religious reasons.

Next thing you know, Muslims will be complaining about the scanners ². Not because of modesty, but because they won't be able to blow the plane up.

Notes

(1):

The Jewish Daily Forwar, How Modern Airport Security May Run Afoul of Jewish Law
Observant Jews are voicing concerns over modesty and looking for compromise on the Transportation Security Administration’s plan to expand the use of whole-body imaging machines for airport security, after last month’s failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound jetliner.
Leaders in both Conservative and Orthodox communities are debating how scanners with the ability to see through clothing intersect with Jewish laws of tzniut, or modesty, which are observed differently among denominations but generally require Jews to cover their bodies.

“It creates a tension between the Jewish value of protecting lives, which is very strong, and the Jewish value of modesty for women and for men,” said David Rosenn, a Conservative rabbi and the executive director of Avodah, a Jewish service program.

(2):

The Jawa Report, Airport Body Scanners Violate the Teachings of Islam, Says Muslim Group
No peeky my peepee
Via CNS News
A group of Muslim scholars says it supports airline safety, but it is "deeply concerned" about the use of airport scanners that show nude images of the human body.

“The Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) emphasizes that a general and public use of such scanners is against the teachings of Islam, natural law and all religions and cultures that stand for decency and modesty,” the group said in a Feb. 10 statement posted at Islam Online.