It was a charter flight operated on behalf Israir, filled with Israeli vacatoners returning home. As I'm sure all my Israely friends would nod in agreement, they can be the most unruly and at the same time assertive lot, I can well imagine that as smoke filled the cabin the pax overwhelmed the cabin crew who probably were not at the top of the profession either. (I flew TS once, they exhibited such a degree of unprofessionalism in the cabin that it was a firm never again experience...)