Your Matza Is Safe if You're Traveling This Passover

The United States Transportation Security Administration has promised to act sensitively with passengers traveling during Passover.

A statement posted on the website of the administration, which is responsible for maintaining security at the country's airports, said that it anticipated an increase in the number of individuals travelling before, during and after Passover.

"Our workforce is aware of the unique items carried by individuals and religious practices individuals may engage in while traveling," the administration said.

"Some travelers will be carrying boxes of matzoh, which are consumed as part of the Passover ritual.

"Passengers traveling with religious items, including handmade matzoh, may request a hand inspection of the items at the security checkpoint."

Matza, it said, probably for the benefit of its agents, "can be machine or handmade and are typically very thin and fragile, and break easily."

It also noted that Jewish travelers may be "reading religious text or participating in prayer rituals. Observant travelers may be wearing a head covering, prayer shawl, and phylacteries -- in Hebrew, kippah, tallit, and tefillin."