JetBlue called the cops and banned a passenger, cancelling his return flight, after speaking to a flight attendant about another member of the cabin crew who was wearing a Palestine flag pin.
After the flight attendant put on an apron for service and placed only her Palestine flag pin over the apron for service so that her other pins were obscured, but she was making sure this one continued to be visible. The Jewish passenger who was flying to Las Vegas on Sunday noticed the woman allowed the apron to cover up pins including Black Lives Matter.
JetBlue airlines hit with 'anti-Semitism' accusations after calling the police on Jewish passenger and accusing him of causing a 'disturbance' after he complained about flight attendant's Palestine lapel pin https://t.co/WChIvCPEqn pic.twitter.com/N63DRxBmKh
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 30, 2024
He spoke to the lead crewmember and expressed that “it was upsetting that she wore that, and that she only changed that pin to the front of the apron, not the others.” He says he was told in response, “okay, I’ll speak with her.”
Nothing more was said during the flight, but a JetBlue employee boarded the aircraft and a flight attendant pointed him out.
‘He goes, ‘Sir! I need to speak with you.’ …’So we go to the top of the ramp. I go, ‘What are you speaking about?’ He said: ‘The disturbance you caused on the airplane.’ I said ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘He said ‘I’m going to need to see your ID. Our pilot called down about the disturbance you caused.’ I said ‘I didn’t cause any disturbance. I’m not giving you my ID.’
‘He said, ‘I’m gonna call Las Vegas Metro PD.’ I said ‘do so.’ So he calls the police and he says ‘I’m standing here with a passenger that caused a disturbance on our flight.’
The passenger left, not waiting for police. Then the TrueBlue member who has held status for 10 years with the carrier discovered that JetBlue cancelled his return flight. An agent over the phone read him notes,
‘That was not true at all,’ he said. ‘I had a conversation with the woman sitting next to me, who brought up the LGBTQ group Queers for Palestine. We had a quiet conversation, not addressing the flight attendant.
‘I said ‘yeah, it’s a bit sad because if they went there, they would be killed.’ I had no communication with the flight attendant, whatsoever.
Reportedly the passenger who sat next to him “confirmed his story.”
It is possible to wear a Palestinian flag and believe you’re advocating for two states. That isn’t usually what it means. One wears the pin to represent “from the river to the sea” Jews will be cleansed, and the land will be Palestinians. At a minimum the frequency with which this message is attached to the symbol means it’s likely to be understood this way.
According to the airline,
JetBlue is committed to providing a respectful and welcoming environment for all our customers and crewmembers.
We are urgently investigating this incident, reaching out to the customer to hear first-hand about their experience and speaking to the crewmembers involved to understand if the actions taken were consistent with our policies and our customer service standards.
To be clear, crewmembers wearing Palestine flag pins is hardly limited to JetBlue. What’s unique in the case of JetBlue is that when a passenger spoke up about their own reaction, the passenger was met by police and their return flight cancelled. The problem here isn’t speech, it’s asymmetric speech (free speech for me, but not for thee, much as on college campuses where speech is currently loudest from those with a privileged place in the oppression hierarchy).
Last time we checked @Delta, your airlines is American based with no flights to “Palestine”.
Why is your employee at Ronald Reagan Airport wearing a Palestinian flag? pic.twitter.com/qyguQ7KLWn
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) May 1, 2024
There’s this weird idea that’s somehow become popular about ‘bringing your whole self to work.’ That’s dumb. I certainly don’t bring my whole self to the office, it’s work not friends and family, and it’s a place to be professional. We’re there to do a job not to kibbitz.
It’s far more problematic at an airline. At an office there’s both self-selection and employer selection that tends to create common ground among employees in a given workspace. Air travel brings people together from all walks of life, having good days and bad days, and traps them inside of a metal tube for hours at a time. That can already be combustible.
Even more challenging is when disagreements are between passengers and crew, because of the power disparity between them under the law.
- The FAA reauthorization bill increases the maximum penalty for passengers violation aviation regulations from $25,000 to $75,000 and make the same penalties that apply to interfering with security screening personnel extend to airport and airline personnel “performing ticketing, check-in, baggage claim, or boarding functions.”
- 49 USC § 44902 provides broad latitude, within certain bounds laid out by the FAA, for the captain of an aircraft to refuse transportation to a passenger if they feel that passenger might be “inimical to safety.” While passengers don’t have to obey crewmember instructions on any and all subjects unrelated to safety, failure to follow any instruction or simply making a crewmember ‘feel unsafe’ is enough for a captain to toss a passenger regardless of whom is at fault.
Bringing crewmember politics onto the aircraft, and forcing passengers to remain silent in response under threat of both airline and legal sanction, is certainly one choice for an airline to make.
Of course passengers get kicked off for their attire – whether for ‘not enough’ attire or because the messages they’re wearing are deemed offensive, whether it’s F-12 in the aftermath of George Floyd or F-cancer after completing treatment.
“One wears the pin to represent “from the river to the sea” Jews will be cleansed, and the land will be Palestinians. At a minimum the frequency with which this message is attached to the symbol means it’s likely to be understood this way.”
Really? Is this what you all are claiming now? That the Palestinian flag itself is antisemitic? I suppose watermelons are antisemitic now too? Talk about a slippery slope.
I find this post deeply troubling. First let me lay out where I think the author and me might find agreement before identifying what I thought was problematical.
. “It is possible to wear a Palestinian flag and believe you’re advocating for two states.” I agree.
. Wearing the Palestinian flag might also suggest that the wearer adheres to the “From the River to the sea” ideology. I agree that this is possible. But it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion.
. “There’s this weird idea that’s somehow become popular about ‘bringing your whole self to work.’ That’s dumb.” I believe that is absolutely correct.
. The author also suggests that JetBlue’s reaction was over the top. I agree with this as well.
Here’s where my disagreements arise:
. “That isn’t usually what it means. One wears the [Palestinian flag] pin to represent ‘from the river to the sea’ Jews will be cleansed, and the land will be Palestinians. At a minimum the frequency with which this message is attached to the symbol means it’s likely to be understood this way.”
I believe this is absurd. According to Wikipedia, “The Palestinian flag in its current form has been used in Palestine since the 1920s…” It’s hard to believe that a national flag from before Israel was formed was conceived of as a symbol for erasing an entire people at its origination. While it may have morphed into that in some, or even many, instances, it is still the defining symbol for a group that wishes statehood. Indeed, I can think of no other symbol that would better represent Palestinians as a people. So if someone wants to silently show their support for this group, what, dear author, would you suggest would be an alternative to this flag?
. “The problem here isn’t speech, it’s asymmetric speech (free speech for me, but not for thee…)” Free speech? Really? Arguments about free speech are typically grounded in its guarantee in the U.S. Bill of Rights. But this guarantee protects citizens from actions to limit speech **by its government, not from private actors.** There is no “right” to free speech on an airplane, or frankly in any private business. Indeed, the author’s own arguments support limitations on “free” speech on an airplane: “Air travel brings people together from all walks of life, having good days and bad days, and traps them inside of a metal tube for hours at a time. That can already be combustible.” Do any of us want free speech if the person next to us is arguing that abortion should (or shouldn’t) be freely available, that Christianity is a dumb religion, or that Trump is a great (or horrible) candidate? I think not. All of us should be circumspect in our comments when we are packed cheek-to-jowl with a bunch of strangers.
. “Bringing crewmember politics onto the aircraft, and forcing passengers to remain silent…” Is wearing a flag pin that appeared to measure less than one inch square really bringing politics onto a flight? C’mon. If I wear the Iron Cross does that mean I’m in favor of the holocaust? Does your opinion change once you are told that this is the current symbol of the German federal army? What if I’m of Cuban descent and weak the Cuban flag? Does that make me a communist? Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Bottom line none of us know what transpired on this flight. What we do know is that a passenger took offense at a crew member wearing a fairly innocuous pin. If that is so bad, then wouldn’t that justify some other passenger taking offense to a different crew member wearing a pin of the flag of Israel? The passenger, in my observation, was out of line. The airline’s response may have been out of line, too. But we would all be better off if we just chilled out and let trivial issues like this roll off our back.
Nick, TikTok is capitalism on steroids. And “Communist China” is rather capitalistic except that the state wants to make sure the Party boss and Party boss favorites get a share of the spoils and can try to show the companies who is the boss. Not so different than Florida under Party rule — Republican Party rule — when it comes to say Disney.
I firmly believe that the workplace is not synonymous with one’s social circle or familial gatherings. Instead, it’s a dedicated space where individuals come together to contribute their skills, expertise, and efforts towards shared goals and objectives. As such, it’s imperative to uphold certain boundaries and standards of conduct that facilitate effective collaboration and mutual respect.
By maintaining a professional demeanor at work, we create an environment conducive to productivity, innovation, and growth. It allows us to focus on the task at hand without unnecessary distractions or disruptions. Moreover, it fosters a sense of trust and reliability among team members, thereby enhancing overall morale and performance.
Of course, this is not to suggest that one should completely suppress their personality or individuality in the workplace. On the contrary, diversity of thought and perspective is invaluable in driving creativity and problem-solving. However, there is a distinction between being authentic and bringing every aspect of one’s personal life into the professional realm.
I see people wearing Israeli lapel pins — I dont complain….Israel sucks, but its a free country ..so he shouldve minded his own business….and just went to his suite and enjoyed his trip.
@GUtlessWonder – Wrong state. You meant to say Delaware and “10% for the Big Guy.”
DeSantis might be many things, there’s no evidence he’s been picking up bag of cash via his children and brother. As opposed to, you know…
A pin with a country’s flag isn’t “anti-Semitic” at all.
On a related note… it’s not anti-Semitic to criticize the Israeli government, just like how it’s not Islamophobic to criticize the Iranian or Saudi Arabian governments.
It’s never wrong to protest guided munitions from 30,000 feet slaughtering thousands of children. If we don’t steal it then someone else will come and steal it has been a brutal enforced policy for 75 years. Even Jews are organizing pro Palestine gatherings. Genocidals should be banned from travel, except one way tickets to the Netherlands. All war criminals to the Hauge.
I wouldn’t want those nails anywhere near my food or drink. How can those be sanitary after wiping???? I just chalk the pin up to pure ignorance, same as BLM pins. The overall IQ of Americans has dipped and companies have a hard time hiring quality anymore.
@Gary Leff, I think you are losing the plot here. In your original post you wrote:
“There’s this weird idea that’s somehow become popular about ‘bringing your whole self to work.’ That’s dumb. I certainly don’t bring my whole self to the office, it’s work not friends and family, and it’s a place to be professional. We’re there to do a job not to kibbitz.”
I think that perspective is completely correct.
However, “View from the Wing” is YOUR office, a place where readers should expect you to not bring your “…Whole self to…” Instead, readers should expect you to “…Do a job, not… kibbitz,” a term which Merriam-Webster defines as “[To] look on and often offer unwanted advice or comment.” Yet you have written in the comments to the original post the following:
“I agree there is ‘limited respect for freedom of expression’ generally. I am concerned with governments restrict it [sic]. I long for the days when the ACLU championed speech, such as the Skokie case and the right of Nazis to march.”
“Student demands to ‘divest’ [from Israel] are silly.”
“I wasn’t a fan of the current Israeli administration. It’s no secret why the politics of Israel were driven away from peacemakers like Yitzak Rabin [sic], Ehud Olmert, and Ehud Barak. Their proposals to create an independent Palestinian state and to swap current Israeli land to include in that state were met with violence. Netanyahu is the direct result of Palestinian violence. And October 7th was clearly meant to blow up peace in the region, with Israel and Saudi Arabia on the verge of normalized relations.”
“It’s hard to know during war who is a civilian and who is a combatant when Hamas hides amongst civilians and uses them as human shields.”
Last time I looked VFTW was a blog about the airline industry. Yet you are actively participating in turning it into a discussion on topics far afield of that mandate. In one sentence you castigate the FA for “Bring[ing her] whole self to the office,” and in the next sentence basically do the same thing yourself. There’s a word for that behavior (spoiler alert: it ain’t kibbitz).
Swiss-cheese-brained posters (you know, people like me) are going to write all sorts of silliness in the comments section of posts like this. It’s questionable whether we should but, to be blunt, this isn’t our workplace so what the he**. However, this is YOUR workplace and you are therefore held to a higher standard. How ’bout you consider stopping the polemics about one Yitzhak vs. another and get back to writing about the topics that are actually germane to this blog.
Have you forgotton DEI policies at work? “They” have absolutely required “bring your whole self/identity to work”. It’s a good thing remember?
An update to the story:
https://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2024/05/jetblues-new-policy-after-flight-crew-lied-about-jewish-passenger-.html
JetBlue responds to me:
As New York’s Hometown Airline, we are proud of our long history welcoming customers of different backgrounds and faiths from around the world. 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.
At JetBlue, our #1 value is safety, and it guides every decision JetBlue makes. Our crewmembers should be focused on the safety of our flights and delivering a great customer experience. 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.
We had previously identified that our pin policy, which had dated back many years and allowed crewmembers to wear one unoffensive personal pin of their choice, needed to be updated to reflect the current environment. In light of this incident, we urgently expedited this change.
We have reached out to listen to Mr. Faust and offer our apologies for the breakdown in our policies during his flight. We hope with these actions we can welcome him back onto a JetBlue flight in the future.
Regards
Annie
JetBlue, Manager Customer Support
It would be reasonable to object to an airline employee wearing a Nazi flag pin – freedom of speech notwithstanding. While a Palestinian flag may be less objectionable, it’s not by much less. After all, most Palestinians SUPPORT HAMAS, who in this day and age are as close as it gets to Nazis, killing innocent civilians indiscriminately, raping women, and being treated as heroes. So, no, it is not equivalent to wearing Israeli flag pin, or one of any other civilized country. Still, it was wise of Jetblue to ban any pins not distributed or specifically approved by them, and let’s hope they stick to it and other airlines follow.