There has been a story floating around over the last few days about an anti-Semitic incident on a United Airlines flight. And it sounds pretty fishy to me. Apparently an Orthodox Jew and his family were embarrassed by flight attendants and the pilot. They were told that they could not eat the kosher fish they bought in restaurant on the plane. They were told to trash it and were humiliated in the process.
I truly feel bad for the way in which this passenger was treated.
My antennae are always up for incidents like this. And on the surface it sounds pretty bad. But I have to ask if there is more to the story. Is it possible that the incident was not sourced in anti-Semitism but in smelly food? This story is totally incongruous to my own experiences on any airline I’ve ever flown.
I hate airline food and I always bring sandwiches from home. Usually tuna with lots of onions. (Yes…I’m an onion-aholic.) And lots of good sour pickles. (I’m a sour pickle-aholic too.) I have never once had anyone ever say anything about it. Not the flight attendants, not the pilot, and not a single passenger. They have always been nothing but friendly and accommodating to me.
Isn’t it just possible that the fish this passenger brought onto the plane was indeed foul smelling? And that this was the real source of the complaints by passengers and crew which resulted in their rather strong reactions? I note that the televison newscast about this story did not include an interview with anyone other than the Orthodox passenger. I have to believe that there is another side to the story.
On the other hand United Airlines issued a complete apology and conceded they were totally wrong, and that the behavior of the flight staff was completely inappropriate. There was not a single word in defense of that flight staffs behavior. But still, I have to wonder if there isn’t more to the story.
That said, I agree that the way in which the flight staff dealt with the problem was entirely wrong, even if it was not anti Semitic. It is very insulting and humiliating to be told:
'I don't want the food on the plane. If you don't trash the food, I'll trash you. You'll get off the plane, you and your wife and your kids,'
and
'are you going to give us any more trouble because I have to worry about 220 passengers smelling your stinking food?
It’s possible the food had such a strong ‘fishy’ aroma that they just wanted to come down hard and fast to eliminate the problem. I don’t know. But it was still wrong. And I’m glad they apologized.
But it is my considered opinion that people who bring food onto a flight make sure that it not overwhelm the plane with its odor. It just isn’t worth it. Even if no one says a word, it doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking it.
And if they identify you as a Jew, it may even be a Chilul HaShem. As a result of this incident I am never going to take any food on a plane again that has any chance of offending anyone.
