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Idiots? Sorry I would have been right there with them. I have Jewish friends, I have lived around Jews all my life and this is new to me. If I saw someone wrapped in electrical tape with little boxes attached to them I think I would vacate the premises. If I was on a ferry I would be seriously worried.

Look up Hasidic Judaism and learn something about the practices of those in Orthodox Judaism. Visit New York (where you'll find a lot of them) and observe their practices. Travel to Israel and watch what they do on the airplane for morning prayers heading to and from there. Visit the Western Wall and observe what they're wearing and how they prepare for prayer.

Even after studying Judaism (from a distance, for I'm Christian) and even though I knew what it was when I saw it happening, it still struck me as "strange" when I first saw it on an airplane on my first flight to Israel a number of years ago. It didn't frighten me, nor did I have an over-the-top reaction, however.

My whole point is that, rather than leaping to a judgement about it, one should actually find out what it is, study it, learn about what other people do and why they do it. As someone else on this thread wrote, the guy wasn't pulling out a rug and kneeling in prayer toward Mecca -- he was gearing up to pray as MANY Orthodox Jews pray. Unusual? For that context (as for mine), yes. But, it's not something that should occasion the kind of public reaction reported in the article.

I am guessing you learned about this (strange) practice a number of years ago, before people started blowing themselves up along with whoever was nearby. I have been to NY but not in 20+ years, I never saw it even in the Hasidic neighborhoods we visited. I am aware of the practice now so I won't be alarmed if I see it again.