U.K.-based sports journalist Leyla Hamed flew Etihad from Abu Dhabi and says she was questioned by security over her Palestine soccer t-shirt during a stopover. She was told to change or cover the word “Palestine.” Hamed says she “always wear[s] Palestine t-shirts” while traveling, as protest and vocal expression against Israel.
Zayed International Airport, Abu Dhabi
She ignored the request of security and was again told at the gate that she wouldn’t be allowed to fly unless she changed.
She said the reason was because the logo was written in Arabic (it literally says Palestine) and it was not allowed at the airport.
Then she said it could make other airport passengers feel “uncomfortable”.
I have no words. pic.twitter.com/kM6sBX87Y9
— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) September 26, 2024
Oh, more about my awful experience in Abu Dhabi:
As I walked to my gate before departing, my boarding pass wouldn’t work at Etihad’s desk. They had to call a supervisor to do another “random check”.
They were ready to not let me fly unless I removed my Palestine top. Wow.
— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) September 26, 2024
She also complains about the inflight moving map. She’s presumably prefer flying Swiss and JetBlue.
I’m traveling with Etihad Airways (owned by Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ) and this is what I see pic.twitter.com/gNbcoCJj5y
— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) September 26, 2024
The U.A.E. does not permit public criticism of the government, its policies, or officials (including the royal family). Public protest is not permitted. Over the summer, a student at NYU Abu Dhabi, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, shouted “Free Palestine!” at graduation. They were deported.
Zayed International Airport, Abu Dhabi
Under the 2020 Abraham Accords, the U.A.E. joined Egypt and Jordan in normalizing relations with Israel. As part of that, Israel suspended plans to annex a portion of the West Bank. Hamas and Hezbollah are supported by Iran. Iran and the U.A.E., representing different parts of Islam, are enemies.
Of course, U.S. airlines have dress codes, too. Passengers have been kicked off for the messages they were communicating and the politicians their attire supported and of course for not wearing enough attire, too.
She should wear her makeup and sleeveless attire in Gaza and see how supported she feels and whether she has any words then.
Because in the UAE they do not have patience for BS, and they hate the palestinians more than anybody else
Dubai famously deported a Pakistani resident worker wearing a Palestine flag shirt in public at a mall last December or so. Knowing that UAE authorities are serious about these policies has helped to maintain order there.
The support that local Palestinian residents in the Gulf States expressed for Saadam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait has not been forgotten. For all of it’s lip service to the “Palestinian cause” Kuwait deported about half a million long term Palestinian residents and confiscated their businesses and properties after the Iraqi invasion was defeated.
The word for today is Backpfeifengesicht. Look it up. It well applies.
While I have enjoyed visiting that part of the world several times I never forget that I am a guest with no rights in a very tense area. She needs to remember that too.
She’s a real Fashionocide survivor. LOL.
@Mak is very correct also – the gulf states know exactly who the “Palestinians” (as the arabs of the area call themselves for the last 80 years or so) – are. Radicals in their cause, be it from an islamist viewpoint, or an arab-nationalistic view point. Almost always in bed with the worst elements – Saddam Hussein, Qadafi, Caucescu etc. No wonder their cause is a lightning rod also with the worst elements today – far right neo-nazis, far-right almost-neo-nazis, communists, “progressive” lunatics and of course islamists suni and shia.
The gulf leaders, who are wise and future thinking understand that these radical’s alliance is just crap, and will lead to nothing good (as we see the west going deeper into decline). And they don’t want a part of that. Unique is the Qatari family who is just trying to make a stamp on the world stage so is going against the other gulf families.
Good for Etihad. I wouldn’t want a terrorist or terrorist supporter on my plane.
If one wears a t-shirt that says “Taiwan”, will they get mad and insist that a piece of paper reading “, China” be added so that it reads “Taiwan, China”.
Taiwan is part of the Republic of China. It is not part of the People’s Republic of China. Taiwan is the main island. There are also some small islands that are not part of Taiwan province but are part of the Republic of China.
The fact of the matter is the current Israeli Netanyahu government refuses the right of Palestine (or even Gaza+West Bank) to exist. True, Hamas is a terrorist organization that refuses to recognize the right of Israel to exist but Israel is pretty tough and unyielding itself. The most fair borders would be the 1948 borders along with security guarantees for all people. What happened was that Israel didn’t care about world opinion and, to try to be more secure, invaded and took over Arab land that was outside Israel’s 1948 borders. Israel never offered compensation for the land taken.
I sympathize that she wishes to express her politics but there is a lesson here about travel. Travel is about interaction of different cultures and beliefs, and doing so while avoiding or managing conflicts. I can criticize Chinese Communist Party in India or USA, but I wouldn’t expect to be able to do so in Beijing. Or wear an anti-Putin cap in Moscow. Or enjoy a pork meal in many Islamic lands. People who do not have such common sense flexibility should not travel.
Good for Etihad as this young woman is now actually learning that rules CAN have consequences, and especially while traveling in the U.A.E. as they absolutely don’t put up with any nonsense. When they say the U.A.E. does not permit public criticism of the government, its policies, or officials (including the royal family), and they clearly outline that Public protest is not permitted, then whatever wacko groups she wants to endorse had simply best be done elsewhere. Simply put they make the rules, and if she doesn’t like them so be it, as she can make her way to Gaza and take up her cause there.
“The most fair borders would be the 1948 borders along with security guarantees for all people. What happened was that Israel didn’t care about world opinion and, to try to be more secure, invaded and took over Arab land that was outside Israel’s 1948 borders”
I think @derek was deported from his history class
While we’re at it, I blame Poland for setting off WW2 by invading Germany, and those Crimeans have no one to blame but themselves for invading Russia in 2014
Did @Rob flunk his history class, not me?
Troops masquerading as Polish troops did invade Germany, starting World War 2. However, those troops were actually German troops wearing Polish uniforms to create a justification for the invasion of Poland. So it may be ok to blame troops masquerading as Polish troops, but not blame Poland.
Crimea is a gray area. It was historically Russian territory. However, Stalin “gifted” it to Ukraine. He didn’t really want to give it away but since he controlled Ukraine and Russia, the gift had no effect at the time. When Gorby fell, the Russians forgot to take back the gift. Putin just did it late. However, doing it late has consequences. When Obama let it go, he gave a blank check to Putin to invade Ukraine in 2022.
Many people have forgotten and advocate the 1967 borders when, in fact, there is a stronger legal basis for the 1948 borders. Israel is too cheap to pay compensation for Arab residential, commercial, and farm land taken in 1948 and later. Furthermore, Israel knows that Hamas wouldn’t be satisfied by that so Israel plays hardball and destroys everyone’s homes in Gaza, Hamas or not.
“I have no words”
Given her rush to social media, I find that hard to believe. But if she’s really stuck, I have a few words I’d be happy to share with her….
Let me add that the so-called Palestinians’ own behavior, starting with airplane hijackings, murder of olympic athletes, etc., all the way to Oct 7 has ensured that nobody likes or wants them. That means NOBODY, not even other Muslims, not even other Arabs. Hell, even West Bank and Gaza, the only two parts of this so-called Palestine, namely don’t like or want each other. So, stop blaming the world and look in the mirror.
I just wore a Star of David pin through the airport in Doha. I was prepared to make an incident if challenged. I guess the difference is Israel isn’t a terrorist state unlike “Palestine”.