A Royal Jordanian pilot reportedly used the PA system while flying over Israel to announce that passengers were flying over “Palestinian lands” and that Jerusalem is the “eternal capital of Palestine.” Whatever your politics, this is not what passengers need from the cockpit, even on an Arab carrier.
Royal Jordanian Pilot Uses PA To Call Jerusalem “Eternal Capital Of Palestine” While Flying Over Israel
A Royal Jordanian pilot has sparked outrage after reportedly making a political announcement while flying over Israel.
As flagged by View From The Wing, the pilot addressed passengers in both Arabic and English while the aircraft was passing through Israeli airspace, telling them they were flying over “Palestinian lands” and inviting passengers on the left side of the aircraft to look out at Jerusalem, which he described as the “eternal capital of Palestine.” The pilot also pointed out Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, Haram al-Sharif, and Bethlehem.
Unsurprisingly, reaction in Israel has been heated. An Israeli Knesset member reportedly asked Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority to seek an explanation from Royal Jordanian and consider regulatory action. Royal Jordanian has not operated regular Amman–Tel Aviv service since the October 7th attacks, but its aircraft still overfly Israeli airspace on routes to Europe, North America, and elsewhere.
This is not the first time something like this has happened. In 2017, a Royal Jordanian captain flying from Amman to New York also referred to Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine during a passenger announcement, shortly after the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
My view is simple: the cockpit is not the place for this.
Pilots can point out landmarks. I love that. Tell passengers they can see Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, the Alps, the Grand Canyon, or Greenland out the window. I do appreciate that (unless I’m sleeping).
But turning the PA into a political statement is different. Jerusalem is one of the most contested, emotionally charged cities in the world. Israel claims it as its capital. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. That conflict is not going to be helped by a pilot spouting off to a captive audience at 35,000 feet.
A cockpit announcement should inform, reassure, or occasionally delight passengers, not provoke them. Passengers do not board an aircraft to hear a geopolitical lecture…
This is also bad business. Airlines operate across borders and depend on international agreements, overflight rights, and public trust. A pilot using company equipment to make a political point while crossing another country’s airspace is asking for trouble.
CONCLUSION
A Royal Jordanian pilot reportedly announced while flying over Israel that passengers were over “Palestinian lands” and described Jerusalem as the “eternal capital of Palestine.”
People can argue politics elsewhere. But on an aircraft, the PA system should not become a pulpit, regardless of the viewpoint being espoused.
Well said by the Royal Jordanian pilot. He was only telling the truth. Let’s stand back and watch the Israeli reaction, it’s sure to be extreme and allow them to play the victim again.
Such statements by the pilot are counterproductive to the goal of an enduring peace in the region.
I’d say Israel’s occupation is counterproductive. A comment by a pilot on a flight where the departure/arrival airport wasn’t in Israel is just a comment.
Occupation of ____?
Seriously…still?
Israel is occupying the West Bank and Gaza – even Israelis will straight up tell you that to your face and then admit that occupying the West Bank is necessary for Israeli national security.
You had no issue with Palestine 14 years ago (https://liveandletsfly.com/winning-over-a-cranky-flight-attendant/) so I have to really wonder what sort of hasbara you were exposed to. Then again, I know you are an Evangelical so I guess you could just be a Christian Zionist.
“Israel claims it as its capital. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. That conflict is not going to be helped by a pilot spouting off to a captive audience at 35,000 feet.”
I have to wonder – if an El Al pilot also announced Jerusalem as the capital of Israel during an overflight, would you also make a post about it? Actually, El Al literally refers to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In regard to their Jerusalem special livery the carrier said:
“In honor of #JerusalemDay, we’re proud to highlight one of our Dreamliner aircraft named “Jerusalem of Gold.“
This aircraft features a unique design: a golden stripe running along its body, seamlessly blended with EL AL’s signature blue and white – the colors of our airline and our flag. The EL AL logo at the front was also specially printed in gold, as a tribute to Israel’s capital.
More than just a design – it’s our way of proudly carrying the spirit of Jerusalem to skies around the world.”
Where’s the outrage over that?
Jerusalem IS the capital of Israel, Matt.
@Matt:
I’m going to assume your comment is meant to clarify, not tear down, and answer in that spirit.
First, I think throwing around terms like “Evangelical” and “Christian Zionist” are not helpful. I do not support the flavor of Christianity that offers blind political support for Israel…the folks who take a verse like Genesis 12:3 (“I will bless those who bless you…”) out of context. My eschatology rejects the idea that we perpetuate the return of Christ by supporting the nation state of Israel or trying to accelerate any current events on the ground because we think it means a shortcut to heaven…nope.
You point out a story I wrote 14 years ago and I stand by it….I enjoyed reading it again (before I clicked on the link, I thought you were referencing my time at the Banksy Hotel in Bethlehem: https://liveandletsfly.com/walled-off-hotel/ )
I think you gloss over why I asked the “Occupation of ____?” question. Notice Aaron did not answer it and while Aaron is one of my favorite readers, he generally is unwilling to answer these questions and I can’t help but to read between the lines. It’s one thing to say that Israel is occupying the West Bank and Gaza. I have frequently condemned the occupation of the West Bank, the settlements there, and the unnecessary violence against Palestine people in that area. But I think what Aaron and many mean are occupation of s0-called Arab land, i.e., a denial of the right of Israel to exist (hid behind plausible deniability when called out on it). I condemn that as bigotry.
Finally, I think Israel is held to an unreasonable standard when it comes to defending itself in Gaza. Had the USA (or any Western nation) been attacked the way Israel was (proportionally, far more died than in the USA on 9/11), I would demand our leaders stop at nothing until the threat was totally eradicated, even if it mean the death of every woman and child. Wow…yes, I just said that. If it’s your child or wife or my child or wife, I choose my child and wife. Now such destruction may not be necessary to achieve Israel’s justifiable objectives, but when these same women and children are used as human shields by pathetically cowardly men who harbor irrational hate in their hearts, then the blood is on their hands, not the hands of the Israel. I simply don’t understand how someone can have the cognitive dissonance to deny that if it was them under attack by a neighboring nation.
@PeteAU
Jerusalem is not the internationally accepted capital of Israel and is not recognized as such by the UN.
@Matthew
Every government has a duty to protect its citizens and defeat those who attack them. But the idea that “even if it meant the death of every woman and child” is a defensible position is something I can’t accept, regardless of whether we’re talking about Israel, the United States, or any other country. Frankly I think your framing is genocidal.
The “human shields” argument is being used as a blanket moral escape hatch, and I don’t accept that.
There is a difference between “Hamas operates in civilian areas” and “every civilian Israel kills is Hamas’s fault.” Gaza is densely urbanized.
Tel Aviv is also heavily urbanized and key, strategic Israeli military facilities are embedded within the city. If a country were to strike Tel Aviv and civilians were affected somehow, are they somehow human shields? Who determines who is a human shield?
More importantly, even if human shielding occurs, it does not erase the attacking army’s legal obligations. You still have to distinguish civilians from combatants. You still have to use proportionate force. You still cannot starve an entire population. You still cannot bomb schools, hospitals, churches, refugee shelters, and residential blocks and then simply say “human shields” afterward.
Amnesty has previously said it found no evidence that Hamas or other Palestinian armed groups directed civilians to shield military objectives in the 2014 war, while B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch have documented Israeli forces using Palestinians as human shields, including after Israel’s own High Court banned the practice. So the term is being applied very selectively.
And when you look at cases like Hind Rajab, the Al-Tabaeen school strike during dawn prayers, children killed in visible civilian settings, or civilians shot near churches, “human shields” does not explain the conduct. It becomes a rhetorical device to avoid accountability for foreseeable civilian deaths.
The “human shields” explanation also fails to account for incidents like the 2014 Bakr family beach strike. Four boys from the same family were killed while playing on a beach in Gaza City in full view of numerous international journalists staying nearby. Israel later stated that the strike resulted from a misidentification, but the incident illustrates the problem with treating “human shields” as a universal explanation for civilian deaths. There was no allegation that the boys were being used to shield militants, nor that they were participating in hostilities. The official explanation was simply that they were mistaken for military targets. If civilians can be killed because they are misidentified, then “human shields” cannot be the explanation for every civilian casualty. And guess what? Those involved faced no punishment whatsoever.
The issue is not whether Hamas has committed war crimes. It has. The issue is whether Hamas’ crimes give Israel unlimited permission to kill civilians. They do not.
If you see Gary’s recent post on this, the comments on this usually go the way you’d expect.
That said, I was attempting a bunch of maybe-false, maybe not-false equivalences; any favorites?
Here’s one: Swap the Middle East for Asia… if a JAL pilot flying over the contested Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, announced them on the PA as the “eternal, sovereign territory of Japan!” …what would Xi say?
Or a Cathay pilot flying over Taiwan declaring it was an “eternal, sovereign territory of the People’s Republic of China, just like Hong Kong”.
Exactly.
Personally, wish they’d just stick to flying and essential announcements (and nearly all crews do!)
“Israel claims it as its capital. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.” is in the article.
A more accurate claim would be:
“Israel claims the entire city, including East Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians also Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. ”
Israel has not abided by the 1948 borders. It hasn’t even with the 1967 borders. It claims security and the right to own all of the land. Of course, the PA and Hamas can be aggressive, too.
Not only are those lies, those are dangerous lies. I sincerely hope that Israel blocks their airspace for RJ flights – and if Jordan tries to react, let them have a reminder of what happened the last time they tried something.