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Home » Delta Air Lines » Delta Accused of Anti-Semitism in FA Lawsuit
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Delta Accused of Anti-Semitism in FA Lawsuit

Matthew January 3, 2018 11 Comments

“Delta has encouraged and maintained an anti-Jewish, Hebrew and ethnic Israeli attitude among management, who…operate under an express assumption that ethnic Jews and Israelis cannot be trusted.”

So claims a lawsuit filed in New York by four Delta FAs against Delta Air Lines.

These FAs, one who has worked for the company for 40 years, work Delta’s New York (JFK) to Tel Aviv (TLV) flight. Two are ethnically Jewish. All claim that Delta targeted them based upon their association with Israel, Israelis, or Jews.

Cynthia Fukelman claims Delta fired her for being Jewish (after 21 years on the job). Delta counters that she missed a flight without permission, prompting her termination. Fukelman claims she had received permission from Delta to take unpaid medical leave.

Tsipora Kuba claims Delta refused to promote her, because she was Jewish. She points to her “qualifications, seniority and experience,” yet argues Delta still passed her over.

Young Sook Sanchez, who is not Jewish, claims Delta unjustly suspended her without pay and revoked her pass travel privileges for making a Jewish friend of 40 years her travel companion. Delta employees can designate a travel partner, giving that person access to standby flights without the employee. Delta counters that Sanchez failed to “demonstrate basic knowledge” about her alleged friend, prompting the suspension.

Attorney Brian Mildenberg, representing the four, pummeled Delta in a statement yesterday–

Delta has encouraged and maintained an anti-Jewish, Hebrew and ethnic Israeli attitude among management, who, through words and deeds, operate under an express assumption that ethnic Jews and Israelis, as employees and passengers, cannot be trusted, are aggressive and inappropriate, and engage in what are deemed to be “strange” behaviors by conducting prayers on the flight and requiring special dietary accommodations (kosher meals).

Morgan Durrant, a Delta spokesman, addressed the matter:

Delta strongly condemns the allegations of discrimination described in this suit and will defend itself vigorously against them. As a global airline that brings people across the world together every day, Delta values diversity in all aspects of its business and has zero tolerance for discrimination.

CONCLUSION

I’ll refrain from offering commentary other than this: it seems there is a lot of circumstantial evidence but very little hard evidence that favors the plaintiffs. On the contrary, Delta appears well-positioned to defend against each of the four FAs. That doesn’t mean they were not discriminated against nor does it mean Delta will win, but it does make their battle an uphill one.

image: Aero Icarus / Wikimedia Commons

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About Author

Matthew

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120 countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying international relations, American government, and later obtaining a law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House. His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles. Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the direction and coordination of company travel.

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11 Comments

  1. Ben Reply
    January 3, 2018 at 10:14 am

    Matthew, Happy New Year! I think there is a typo here “Two are ethnically Jewish.” Do you mean Israeli?

    • Matthew Reply
      January 3, 2018 at 10:21 am

      Hi Ben, Happy New Year! I did intend to write “ethnically Jewish”. Is that incorrect?

      • Guy Reply
        January 3, 2018 at 10:41 am

        No you did not. Israeli is a nationality, a citizen of Israel. An individual who is ethnically Jewish is a any person of Jewish descent [Ashkenazi/Sephardic/Mizrahi]. For example, an individual may be an American Jew.

        • guy Reply
          January 3, 2018 at 7:23 pm

          Oops, not communicated properly “No you did not” meant to be “No you did not use it incorrectly”

      • Christian Reply
        January 3, 2018 at 3:09 pm

        Judaism is a religion, not an ethnicity. Otherwise, how do you differentiate from an ethnic Muslim, Copt or Baptist?

        • Matthew Reply
          January 3, 2018 at 3:30 pm

          Judaism is a religion, but Jewish is ethnoreligious, right?

          • Anthony
            January 3, 2018 at 9:47 pm

            Matt, I think you’re correct that Jewish is ethnoreligious. I once had a Jewish friend submit to me that Israel deserves to exist, because “Italy also exists for the Italians.” So that leads me to believe many Jews see Israel as an ethnostate.

  2. Gene Reply
    January 3, 2018 at 10:30 am

    I strongly dislike current DL upper management, but this lawsuit sounds ridiculous.

  3. geoff Reply
    January 3, 2018 at 10:41 am

    This is one of the worst attempted money grabs I’ve ever seen. Yeah she worked at Delta for over 20 years and gets canned now because of some mysterious ant-semitic claim. pathetic. Delta should counter sue her and the hairball attorney for all costs.

  4. Petter Niklas Reply
    January 3, 2018 at 11:59 am

    And of course the racist/nazist Republicans found their way here…. José st like they got 45 elected..

  5. Anthony Reply
    January 3, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    This lawsuit is a disgrace. I hate big corporations more than most people, but these people are clearly just trying to look for a big payout. Shameless!

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