A Jewish passenger claims JetBlue employees were anti-Semitic after a flight attendant wearing a “Free Palestine” pin acted provocatively toward him, according to news reports.
Paul Faust, 54, of Parkland, Fla., was on an April 28 flight to Las Vegas when he noticed a flight attendant was wearing several pins on her uniform. Faust chose not to say anything about the Palestine-related pin, which had a Palestinian flag attached.
A short time later, the flight attendant put on an apron when she began serving drinks. She chose to place only the “Free Palestine” pin on the apron. Other pins, including one for “Black Lives Matter” remained on her uniform.
Faust, who has a visible Jewish-themed tattoo, was concerned that by choosing only to move the “Free Palestine” pin to the apron, the flight attendant was being provocative and “deliberate.”
Faust spoke to a supervisor on the flight and suggested that the flight attendant with the pin be spoken to after the flight landed at Harry Reid International Airport. He wanted to avoid an “issue.”
“Just talk about how it was maybe a little insensitive, it made me feel a little uncomfortable,” Faust reportedly told the in-flight supervisor.
JetBlue Called Cops
But when the flight landed, an airline official accosted Faust in the terminal and told him he was calling the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) because Faust allegedly created a “disturbance” on the flight.
The employee demanded Faust produce an ID. Faust, claiming the accusation was a lie, refused to provide an ID, and left the airport.
The next day, when he was checking on his return flight to Florida, Faust discovered he had been banned by the airlines for the previously booked flight. A representative later told him it was because he had created a disturbance on the April 28 flight.
The in-house notes on the incident also included a claim by the flight attendant that Faust said, “everyone should go to Gaza so they can be killed.’
Faust said he never spoke to the flight attendant. He was speaking privately to another Jewish passenger, identified by DailyMail.com as Rachelle Almagor, about issues related to Israel.
Almagor also told DailyMail.com that she too was asked for an ID in the terminal. She was shaken up by the incident and chose not to fly back to Florida on JetBlue.
She wants the involved flight attendant fired, according to DailyMail.com.
My daughter lost her best friend in Gaza. He was kidnapped and murdered. So, it was very uncomfortable for me to have to see that Free Palestine pin,” she told DailyMail.com.
Faust, who flew back to Florida on another airline, has described the incident as “blatant antisemitism,” the New York Post reported. “Not a good look JetBlue.”
He sent an email to the CEO of JetBlue and posted two videos on social media about the incident.
JetBlue Apologizes, Investigating
JetBlue revealed this week it’s investigating the claims.
JetBlue does not tolerate discriminatory conduct, and we are committed to providing a respectful and welcoming environment for all our customers and crewmembers. We are taking this matter very seriously and conducting a full investigation into our crewmembers’ actions. We will take appropriate action once our investigation is complete as a result of non-compliance with any JetBlue policies,” the airlines said in a statement to Casino.org.
JetBlue said it apologized to Faust, who is a member of the airline’s frequent flier program.
JetBlue also is changing its policy on pins.
“We have changed our uniform policy to make clear that on board the aircraft is not the right place for crewmembers to advocate positions on certain issues or political topics. Going forward crewmembers will only be permitted to wear pins approved or issued by JetBlue,” the statement added.
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