A Jewish passenger claims JetBlue banned him after a flight attendant lied about an onboard encounter concerning a Palestine pin on her uniform.
JetBlue Bans Jewish Passenger After Complain About Palestine Pin Worn By Flight Attendant
Paul Faust, 54, was on a JetBlue flight from New York (JFK) to Las Vegas (LAS) last Sunday when he noticed a flight attendant wearing a Palestine flag pin on her uniform. During the service onboard, she transferred the pin to her apron so that it was again clearly visible to all guests.
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
Faust complained to the lead flight attendant who said she would talk to the flight attendant in question. That was it, or so Faust thought.
But when the plane landed in Las Vegas, a member of JetBlue’s ground staff boarded the flight and approached Faust.
JetBlue Ground Staff: ‘Sir! I need to speak with you.
Faust: What are you speaking about?
JetBlue: The disturbance you caused on the airplane
Faust: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
JetBlue: I’m going to need to see your ID. Our pilot called down about the disturbance you caused
Faust: I didn’t cause any disturbance. I’m not giving you my ID.
JetBlue: I’m gonna call Las Vegas Metro PD.
Faust: Do so.
JetBlue (calling police): I’m standing here with a passenger that caused a disturbance on our flight.
Faust walked away, leaving the airport. He later found his return ticket canceled and when he called in, a reservations agent read him a note on the reservation stating that he:
- did not listen to flight crew instructions
- didn’t listen to the supervisor at the gate
- said everyone should go to Gaza so they can be killed
Faust disputes all these points, saying he was never given instructions by the crew, did listen to the supervisor, and never said everyone should go to Gaza so they could be killed.
“That was not true at all. 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.”
JetBlue says it is looking into the matter:
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.
In the meantime, Faust remains banned.
This Goes Beyond The Palestine Pin
I’ve said it before: I’m not in favor of pins and other accouterments on flight attendant or plot unfiroms. The point of a uniform is to look…uniform, i.e. the same. It is not about expressing individuality. It is for that reason that I quite like on Gulf and East Asian carriers how there are strict rules governing not only the uniform and what can be on it, but also on hair and makeup. The idea is not to create robots, but to create a common and professional appearance so that mismatched unifroms or pins do not become a distraction.
I’m against GOP pins, DNC pins, Trump pins, Biden pins, Palestine pins, and Israel pins. I’m even against cross or star of David or crescent pins meant to symbolize the Abrahamic faiths. There’s a time and place for such pins, but not on airplanes worn by airline staff.
The Palestine flag, like Black Lives Matter pins, may mean different things to different people (same with a Blue Lives Matter or Israeli flag pin) and that tension makes it unwise to wear any such pins on airplanes if you are representing the airline. Sorry, focus on the service and advocate on your own time.
As for what happened here, we’re going to have to wait and see. I’m not sure what Faust says is true, though he claims he has a witness (his seatmate) who backs up his side of the story.
I just flew JetBlue and unlike my past trips,the flight attendants were quite lackluster. I could see a flight attendant simply being offended that Fasut was offended about her pin and making up the story.
We’ll probably hear nothing else from JetBlue, but hopefully, Faust will keep us updated. If he suddenly goes quiet we might take it as an indication that his initial story may not have been fully accurate.
CONCLUSION
A Jewish man claims he was banned from JetBlue flight for expressing dismay over a flight attendant’s prominent Palestine pin. JetBlue said he made threats onboard, but the man denies it. All of this over a small flag pin on a flight attendant’s apron…
Hat Tip: View From The Wing
if Faust is telling the truth, fire both the pilot and the entire flight crew
If the union gives any trouble such as an illegal strike in response, give them the Reagan speech to the air traffic controllers
@Derek … the pin has nothing to do with a strike , Reagan , nor air traffic controllers . It is merely a pin .
I was referring to any actions the union may take if there was any discipline action taken against the crew
Sometimes unions will do a short term strike if one of their members is fired
What did Ronnie say in that speech? “Ooopsie, I sh*t my pants mommy.”
That was Biden:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6kC3ZZx4XR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Gets a bag of popcorn and prepares for the fully rational discourse that shall occur here.
Personally I prefer to wear a thin crust line pin, remembering those that gave everything they had to bring me a pizza, They traveled through rain, snow, hurricane, crazy guys, drug addicts, drunks, all to ensure the delivery of a pizza. We must never forget the sacrifices they made to ensure we are fed and don’t need to drive for food. I
@Brendo … I’d like to create some pins : “dog owners have dog breath” .
“clear out the demonstrators … spray them with deodorant” .
“roller bag carry ons are packed full of junk” .
Airlines, please ban all political messaging from your FAs.
We seriously, seriously don’t give a fvck, and worst case it could lead to delays because other pax feeling a bit too strongly about it
Ban on all pins would be the best solution to reduce the tensions on airplanes.
When I was in the adult film business I hated Jewish guys because of them being uncircumcised, but I never discriminated against them. $500 was $500 so I finished them off just the same as any other guy. I did hear I was very popular with the Arabs and there was an underground network to get my films into their hands. I appreciate they risked their lives to see my Frat Boys series.
Best possible response to this.
Most adult Jewish American males — and most adult Jewish males worldwide — are circumcised. Much like is the case with most adult Arab males. So who knows where you get your weird info unless you were engaged in criminal activity that means you deserve a long, long prison sentence as a sex predator.
Are you serious? Look up what a “Bris” is……all those guys “you hated” were NOT Jewish. It’s not as if you are just incorrect, you are the exact 180 degree opposite of correct.
It sounds like JetBlue were right and Faust sounds utterly deranged.
Why would you possibly say that? Some Airlines and FAs lately have been on powertrips and completely forgot why they exist. Do you have any logic, reason or an inkling of an idea why you took that position?
Flight attendants on US airlines have been power tripping like crazy ever since 9/11. And even as a proponent of mask use on my flights during the US mandate for masks on flights, I saw one too many power-tripping FAs using the mask mandates as an opportunity to harass people who even seemed to be trying to comply and were often in compliance while being picked on by the FAs. And like many an employee today, they tend to rally on the side of their employees even when their employees have messed up their dealing with customers whom they think are easily replaceable.
Lately? FAs on US airlines have been crazily power-tripping on passengers since 9/11. Too many people seemed to be fine with that when they believed the overpolicing and harassing would be aimed at perceived “Muslim and brown” travelers. It didn’t take FAs very long to hassle older “white male” business travelers too. But you know what Niemoller said in the poem “Zuerst kamen sie…..”.
Nowadays a lot of Americans are hating or being groomed to hate on antiwar and pro-Palestinian rights protesters in the US, but the attempt and means to silence and even violently disappear these protesters from public across the US will not serve the country well over the longer term. Those in power will find another “enemy” on top of the prior “enemies”, as that is the nature of power until it destroys even its own fans from yesteryears. Hate on the Palestinian national flag pin today, but tomorrow it will be another national flag pin and a comment about passengers wearing pins that open the door to power tripping against law-abiding “Israel can do no/little wrong” passengers who will also be at risk of even more bullying by FAs on US airlines.
All this drama over a permitted Palestinian national flag pin in the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave”? Seems like too many people are terrified of lawful freedom and cowardly to make a fuss over a national flag pin.
No. As the article clearly states, a uniform – by definition – is not the place to display religious or social affiliations. I flew Etihad Friday and yesterday (MAD-AUH-KUL) and saw no pins of any sort on either flight.
Interesting take on information presented.
JetBlue should be ashamed. You are wearing a company’s uniform, you cannot let your employees express their own opinions on the uniform. Kids cannot have patches or pins on school uniforms. It is called uniform for a reason: to looks the same as others. Fire the FA and pilot. I don’t care what pin she was wearing, pins do not belong in an uniform while you are working.
Does it really matter whether or not the anti-Palestinian national flag complainer and booted off passenger is Jewish? If so, should it matter any more than if the complainer were happen to be Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Confucian, Shinto, Jain, Zoroastrian, an atheist or whatever else is out there in terms of disposition toward faith?
What a cess pool of an airline culture – completely inappropriate place for any political or religious pin
What is messed up is if he has been banned by the airline. Absent a criminal history of relevance to a flight, I am opposed to banning free persons from being able to fly by common carrier means on their own dime.
Absolutely agree with this — what if JetBlue is the only airline that makes sense for him to fly due to his personal/business schedule/routes? He can’t fly them now because he was provoked by a flight attendant wearing a very controversial pin on the flight?
It would have been best for him to say nothing, but based on what has been reported so far, I don’t see anything to justify a ban. Certainly, there was no crime committed based on the information provided. Airlines want to act like completely private businesses with the ability to expel anyone for virtually any reason, but they are not typical private businesses, as they have historically received massive government bailouts, and they are subject to specialized government regulation.
JetBlue should save face asap here, reverse the ban, and do their best to avoid what seems like, potentially, a very valid lawsuit.
So much for being there primarily for your safety. The pin was worn to stir controversy in a place where the flight attendant had an advantage. Read power trip, because that pin opened the door to trouble.
There seemed to be no controversy between the passenger and the FA until the passenger made an issue about a national flag pin and the airline employees decided not to try to deescalate the situation over the passenger’s political commentary on board the plane.
The wearing of the pin opened the door. No drama would have happened without it.
What opened the door to the drama is the Palestinian-critical passenger deciding on his own to stir himself up and try to stir one or more other passengers into being stirred up over a national flag pin. If that since allegedly banned passenger had his emotions and thinking together he would have played it smart and wisely waited to complain after the flight rather than stir a pot of his own making while on the plane.
Most sensible passengers know that fussing over personal matters with FAs on US airline planes is a one-way ticket to see how privileged people of questionable character “go along to get along” in order to silence or disappear someone that the privileged bullies don’t like for whatever reason and contrived narrative is convenient for the bullies and their go-along-to-get-along gang to latch onto for purposes of trying to master critics and straightforward observers. And in the case of dealing with US airlines on a plane, the privileged in a position to bully are the flight and cabin crew. I don’t like it, but that is how it is. And any wise, smart and patient complainer knows you don’t pick a battle on a US airline flight with crew members.
Get over yourself. Be realistic. Not this idealistic dolt. Flight attendant started it. Full stop. Because it is easy to to win a disagreement when you’re in POWER. And here’s a tip, spare the rest of us from your long winded nonsense. Said with respect.
The passenger complaining about the pin(s) on the plane and his discussion with his seatmate about the pin(s) is what opened the door to this controversy and the controversial reception by the airline employees.
I am curious if his female seatmate — perhaps on her own ticketed PNR — also got this kind of reception from the airline. It may seem that US airline employees are more into over-policing and power-tripping against male passengers than female ones. Some demographic groups are more likely to be subject to harsher power-tripping and over-policing than others.
I believe the passenger here.
Ban pins.
Also, JetBlue has become such a garbage carrier.
The lone exception to wearing a Flag of a Country is when its a means to allow the passengers to know which crew members speak their language.
On our just completed flight ZRH-EWR an announcement was made in English and German that there are 2 FAs aboard that speak German and to look for the German flag pin that they will be wearing should you need to speak to a crew member that speaks German.
That said I Never heard such an announcement when flying within The US, besides there is no Country in The World called Palestine nor Kurdistan, nor any flights that fly into either = its a Political Pin and not to help passengers who dont speak English know whom to speak to and thusly shouldnt be allowed
Thank you for interjecting facts and logic. The FA created this issue. Palastine is like Never Neverland. Doesn’t exist. Regardless of what Faust may have said or not said, the FA needs to be fired. She can protest at MIT or Columbia like the other useless idiots. But not on a plane while working
This is another case where chest cams would be useful for FA’s. FA’s often claim they’re in a policing style role (to ensure the passengers comply with their safety instructions) and in a position of authority. This is a he-said-she-said situation and a recording would be invaluable in this situation.
The passenger appears to be in the right but should have waited for the police to arrive and to have requested names of witnesses while they were still deplaning, if possible.
This is exactly what I predicted would start happening. That a knee jerk reaction by airlines to Covid period disruptions from passengers would lead to not really doing much to change this, but in fact end up becoming the ultimate power tripping nonsense they all latch on to. Let’s call it, “The Hertzification of Airlines.” FA’s are not trained properly, are often misinformed and silly, and lacking any cultural awareness. The pilots just go with what the FA says, not wanting to have to work with someone they go against as the decision maker. It will lead to more of this happening every day. This is nothing more than FA’s getting what they ultimately want as passengers…zombies who say nothing, ask for nothing, do nothing – but sit there like in military school with their hands on their lap so they can all stand around in the galley gushing about unions and looking at their phones.
At some point the airlines will look at their empty planes and say, “Wait, umm, we banned everyone.” The flight attendants will do happy dances in their ugly clogs.
@Stuart: +1. Absolutely agree with everything you said. I already became that zombie you described. That’s unfortunate but I just put my headphones and ignore the world around me to avoid any type of issue.
@ Stuart
Exactly.
If the picture above shows the FA in question, I’d be really worried about the claws on her. Those fake nails are incredibly dirty dangerous.
I wonder if she has the fake eye lashes to match, lol?
Maryland nailed it. No pins other than a name tag. You’re just inviting trouble.
Cairns
When raising kids you quickly learn the trouble makers. Life is too short for extra fuss. ;·)
Thank you for sharing my story. Truthfully I only became truly shocked and upset when my flight home was cancelled without any notice and when I spoke to Mosaic desk and she read to me what was noted on file (all untrue)
As an FYI..their investigation which including speaking to 8 other passengers and their crew determined there was no issue on flight and no disturbance whatsoever. I was being 100% truthful in my story
Thanks Paul for chiming in – I am glad that you saw this. May I email you with some additional questions?
Is this your Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/coolguypaulfaust/reel/C2gY3bZtLhI/. ?
In that Paul Faust Instagram account there is a very recent post praising the violent “pro-Israel” protesters at UCLA who launched violence against the anti-war encampment at UCLA. And that Paul Faust Instagram account member says they are proud of the violence by his/her/their “people” against the anti-war encampment.
If that is your attitude toward violence against anti-war protesters on a campus, at best it makes you seem like a supporter of criminal vigilantism and being a thug.
Trump-style double entendres don’t really mask much.
It does sound like the FA and airline were again engaged in power-tripping for no good reason. Seems like the airline employees’ tolerance for passengers’ reasonable approaches over differing opinions is way too low, and this is an example of that and ridiculous power-tripping.
Hopefully the airline gets its head together and removes the ridiculous ban.
thank you for exposing this guy while he’s out here trying to play victim.
If a flight attendant made a false report about you, it is akin to filing a false police report. Flight attendants are federally regulated positions. You should look into pressing charges. A false report by a flight attendant could be considered interfering with a flight crew. You should also look into taking legal action for having a false report made against you. If the witnesses corroborate your statements, I don’t see how you wouldn’t be sided with.
You should not make the issue about Palestinian and Jew because the issue is a false report was made against you allegedly. That’s the abuse of power. I’m pro Palestine because 80% of Jews are globalists who use their power to push globalism and being Israel first does not help anti globalists. Good Jews admit being Israel First is antithetical to freedom. I do admit that a lot of the people supporting Palestine are bad on every other issue. They support Palestinians but for the wrong reasons. I support the protests and encampments but only for the one reason. That BLM pin in the picture tells us all we need to know.
Would a flight attendant making a false report about passengers be liable for defamation?
That’s one refreshing thing about foreign carriers (among many) – the FA’s are there to do A JOB, not show off their idiotic politics to their uninterested customers
@Chi Hsuan … +1 .
Agree on the no-pins at all. But (and saying this a Jew) I still don’t understand the morons that think that pro-Palestine must also mean anti-Semite, anti-Israel or pro-Hamas. It very well might in some cases. But just because someone is pro-Palestinian does not make the rest so just because. I can both agree that Hamas is awful and that Israel has a right to defend itself and go after Hamas. But I also sympathize with the necessity that Palestinians deserve their own state too. I can both agree that Israel was right to go after Hamas while also criticizing their awful savage behavior since that went of the rails.
I do not want to fly on an airline and see a flight attendant wearing that pin. It couldnt be more insulting to Americans and Jewish Americans. If Jet Blue thinks it’s ok to allow this people should think twice about flying them. On April 25 they wouldn’t let my very disabled daughter fly with her dog though he is approved to fly and has flown before with them and other airlines. Now Anti Semitism. There are plenty of other airlines that would not allow their employees to wear hate pins. I will gladly spend my money on them from now on
Thankfully you don’t speak for all or even most Americans and Jewish Americans about what is insulting or not.
What is offensive is assuming monolithic American and Jewish American support for the atrocious behavior by the Netanyahu government and its supporters against the Palestinians as a whole. These anti-war protesters in the US are led by Americans and inclusive of many Jewish Americans. The “Israel can do no wrong” right-wing want to disappear the reality of the demographic diversity that makes America and the Jewish American community great and greater than the open and closeted MAGA supporters.
Did the FA do anything to discriminate against any passengers? I have no issue with passengers, crew, or etc wearing Palestinian, Israeli flag lapel pins. They are just flags. I don’t consider them hateful speech or anything.
They escalated the matter, with the pilot even calling ahead to get the passenger a special reception. And then they seem to have threatened something about getting the police involved against him. Bad look at JetBlue and what has gone wrong with airline employee culture in the country since 9/11.
NEVER wear anything related to religious or political beliefs. You will be labeled.
@Tony N … Yep . The wise will not discuss many things , and the wisest will discuss even fewer .
Orthodox and ultraorthodox Jewish peoples — just like all other religious Americans — shouldn’t be required to hide or remove physical markers of religious identity in order to work or travel in America.
I can’t even count the number of times where I saw the the late US Senator Lieberman (D/I-CT) wearing a kippa. And he was a very nice guy and in our country and had a due right to travel about and be doing his business with a kippa if he liked.
What is offensive is people being offended by public markers of religious or national affinity and making a stink about things like that instead of just minding their own business without obsessing over the religious and national affinities a person has when out and about in public or even on a job that objectively has no significant national security implications.
The real issue is wearing it on the uniform. People regularly wear crosses or stars on a chain and it’s a non issue because it’s personal space. It is ridiculous for any business to allow any pin on the uniform. JetBlue never should have kowtowed to this ridiculousness.
To Anthony: Yes, she did. Obviously.
While I wholeheartedly support Palestinians on the Zionist Question, flight attendants wearing any pins on a uniform is ridiculous, passengers are allowed to criticize these as a matter of free speech, and flight attendants are notorious liars. If what the man is saying is true the flight attendant, lead flight attendant, and or pilot committed a crime by making a false report. To say a man committed a disturbance which is official language if he did not amounts to filing a false police report. Pilots should not be allowed to fly if they take the word of flight attendants as fact. Pilots should verify and seek witnesses before reporting something.
It is interesting how 80% of Jews support BLM, open borders, lgbt, forced integration, communism, created communism, and no property or business rights based on exit polls and then complain about this. Equality is a lie. The eye test doesn’t lie. People who are rational and honest would admit they wouldn’t want a flight attendant like this if the image isn’t fake. With DEI they are now pushed to fly planes. Content of character is bs when my eyes work.
Curious how the FA knew the man was Jewish. Most people, especially if you’re going to say something about something controversial or that they don’t like, don’t give a specific reason why if they don’t need to. I can’t see this man asking the lead FA “Can you please have the other FA to remove her pin? I find it offensive because I’m Jewish.” I’m Jewish, as well, and that’s not at all how I would phrase it. I also doubt the man said anything about everyone going yo Gaza to be killed. Who would be the “everyone” he was referring to? Only one FA was wearing the pin. This sound to me more like a power trip. JetBlue should be ashamed of themselves. I Used to fly them exclusively in the early 2010’s, but they really started going downhill towards the end of the decade last I flew before COVID hit. This is just awful.
If he decides to sue the airline and the involved airline employees, I would suggest that he try to find out if the involved airline employees in the air — free in-flight internet is used by them too — tried to “research” the passenger while they all were on the plane. If so, then maybe the FA may have concluded or assumed religious affinity that way if not from overhearing the conversation of the passenger or perhaps seeing some physical signs of potential religious affinity.
In 2020, the right-wing-inclined NY Post referred to the allowance for some pins to be worn by employees as “pindemonium” or something like that. They of course get a rise themselves out of trying to run up pandemonium.
JetBlue has quite the history too of making a fuss about “political” commentary by passengers.
Maybe the ACLU can take up the passenger’s case even as there the right to free speech and expression is vis-a-vis the government and not an airline which isn’t government-owned or operated,
Fortunately, the ACLU took up the matter when JetBlue discriminated against Arabic writing on a t-shirt:
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-sues-tsa-official-jetblue-discriminating-against-passenger-wearing-arabic-t
Are you also against American flag pins? And why not?
And what about national flag pins being worn by passengers on US airlines? Make drama over a fellow passenger wearing a Palestinian national flag pin?
I think I need to order myself some Israeli and Palestinian national flag pins and go about wearing both of them along with my US national flag pins. I am sure it would annoy a bunch of anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigots for passengers to start wearing those (non-US) national flag pins regardless of a US flag pin being there or not; but that’s not my problem as long as wearing US national flag pins don’t violate the policy of the airlines I fly and those airlines don’t discriminate against pin-wearing based on nation.
I don’t think patriotic pins of any kind, including US flags, are an appropriate uniform item.
However, I love what Emirates did (until PRC whined about Taiwan) with the flag pins of origin on name tags. And I think flag pins showing language qualification are appropriate.
I agree with all of this.
Would the “banned” passenger have made a fuss about the same pins being on fellow passengers? That they took issue with a flight attendant — knowing full well that the FAs are obviously in a position of privilege to exercise power over passengers — opens the door to the possibility that such passenger may do much the same thing with regard to fellow passengers on a flight wearing the same pins and doing the same kind of thing with pins as the FA is said to have done.
Would the “banned” passenger have made a fuss about the FA’s pins if the pins were the US, Israeli and Indian flag pins? In the matter of this last question, I doubt it.
To your last point, of course not – but he’s an ideologue, just like the flight attendant. And that’s why flight attendants should not wear divisive political pins during this time (and any Israeli or Palestinian pins should be seen as exactly that during a war between Hamas and Israel). Not in a customer-facing role during a period with intense disagreement on a contentious war.
Look, to this passenger it would be like a flight attendant wearing the pin of Nazi Germany and then when confronted, saying, “What are you talking about?! Allied forces are slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent women and children.” The stated goal of Hamas is the destruction of Israel – the forced removal of ethnic Jews from the land and the elimination of the state of Israel. I’m not so surprised that people get offended by a flag that is flown by a Hamas administration making such pronouncements.
If I saw a crew member wearing that pin I would be very upset. Why? The flag of “Palestine” doesn’t represent a country it represents a movement. And that movement has dedicated itself to the murder of Jews and Israelis around the world for decades. They did it by hijacking planes, blowing up planes, and shooting passengers. So a FA is acknowledging her adherence to that ideology. Is that supposed to make you feel safe or are you going to spend the entire flight worried that when she brings food to cockpit she intends to slit someones throat? It wouldn’t make me feel safe and if I saw a crew member sporting a pro-terrorist insignia. I’d insist to be deplaned. They would by FAA regs require to remove my luggage removed. If that delays the flight…to bad.