Za`tar and U.S. National Security. Yesterday, as I was going through security at Seattle airport, I was asked about some "strange" item in my bag. I did not know what they were referring to. So they removed the bag, and started a thorough search, item-by-item. Until they found that jar of Aleppo Za`tar that a Syrian student in Olympia had given me. They asked me about it: and I had a hard time explaining beyond saying that you mix it with sesame seeds and olive oil. They said that they have to test it in another machine. After a high-tech examination, the Za`tar was found to be innocent and with no terrorist connnections. And then I returned home. Last week, I told my dear friend `Isa in Jordan (who supplies me with best quality Palestinian-Jordanian Za`tar) that I am running out of Za`tar. He sent me a large (very large) shipment of Za`tar through Aramex. It arrived safely but custom officials destroyed the contents of one of the bags, presumably to test the contents of the sealed bags. Fortunately, he sent me five other bags so I was fine.