ATLANTA- A Jewish American flight attendant is suing Delta Air Lines (DL) over claims of antisemitic discrimination and retaliation.
Roey Segev of Florida alleges Delta has “engaged in a pattern of intentionally discriminating and retaliating against ethically Jewish and Israeli employees.”
Delta Flight Attendant Sues on Discrimination
Segev alleges that Delta compromised Jewish employees’ safety by knowingly employing individuals who support Hamas, noting that four flight attendants who openly expressed “hatred and animosity towards Israel” remain employed.
Employed as a Hebrew and English-speaking bilingual crew member since March 2019, Segev says he was satisfied with his role until an incident in January 2023.
On a Tel Aviv to New York flight on January 15, 2023, Segev alleges that a purser acted “demonstrably antisemitic” by referring to passengers as “your people” and reprimanding him for speaking Hebrew with customers. Segev says Delta failed to respond to his complaints regarding this encounter.
Months later, Segev was involved in an incident with an unruly passenger on another Tel Aviv to New York flight. According to Segev, he and another Jewish Israeli flight attendant were left to handle the “violent” passenger, and Delta did not follow standard procedure by diverting the flight to remove the passenger. Segev says he has never explained Delta’s decision.
In a separate incident weeks later, Segev reported on an internal platform that an “unsafe cabin environment” developed during a Las Vegas to Atlanta flight that sat on the tarmac for over two hours in extreme heat, resulting in passengers and crew requiring medical treatment for fainting.
Support to Palestine
The lawsuit details several incidents Segev experienced. In January 2023, Segev says a purser on a flight from Tel Aviv to New York was “demonstrably antisemitic” towards him and other Jewish Israeli flight attendants. Segev claims he complained to Delta but received no response.
Segev also alleges that during a serious incident involving an unruly passenger on a Tel Aviv to New York flight, he and another Jewish Israeli flight attendant were left to deal with the “violent” passenger as the plane continued to New York, rather than being diverted.
Following a Hamas terror attack on Israel in October 2023, Segev says several Delta flight attendants displayed “avid support” for Hamas on social media, leading to an internal investigation. However, the lawsuit alleges these flight attendants are still employed by the airline, despite Delta’s social media rules.
The lawsuit comes weeks after another Delta flight attendant sued the airline over alleged religious discrimination involving a ham sandwich.
Similar Lawsuit
In September, Sasi Sheva a resident of Encino, California, filed a lawsuit against Delta Air Lines, alleging the airline refused his requests for time off to observe Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.
Sheva, who has served as a Delta flight attendant from New York JFK for two and a half years, claims Delta also discriminated against him by serving him a ham sandwich. This followed a denial of his request to pick up vegetarian food from an airport vendor before a flight.
The lawsuit notes Delta is facing “multiple” complaints alleging mistreatment of Jewish and Israeli employees and references similar legal challenges by staff claiming discrimination by the airline.
In July, Delta became embroiled in an antisemitism controversy after a flight attendant was seen wearing a Palestine flag pin. Although this did not violate Delta’s policies at the time, the airline quickly updated its uniform policy to ban Palestine flag pins following a public backlash.
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), which seeks to represent Delta’s non-unionized flight attendants, criticized Delta’s decision to change the uniform policy under public pressure.
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