Crewmember Accuses Carrier of Repeated Antisemitism

A Jewish flight attendant, Roey Segev, recently filed a lawsuit against Delta Airlines over claims of religious discrimination. Segev has apparently run out of patience after reporting several incidents to the carrier to no avail.

Segev has been employed with Delta Airlines since March 2019. He states that he had no significant issues in his role until early 2023, which launched a “pattern of intentionally discriminating and retaliating against ethically Jewish and Israeli employees.”

On January 15, 2023, Segev was working a flight from Tel Aviv to New York. He alleges that a senior crewmember was being “demonstrably antisemitic,” referring to other Israeli passengers as “your people” and scolding him for speaking Hebrew. According to Segev, Delta never responded to complaints about the incident.

Just a few months later, on the same Tel Aviv to New York route, Segev and another Jewish flight attendant were left alone to deal with a “violent” unruly passenger. Segev noted that the flight crew did not divert to boot the passenger, as Delta’s standard procedures call for.

Segev also claims that Delta knowingly continues to employ flight attendants who publicly support Hamas. Specifically, he states that four employees shared “hatred and animosity towards Israel” on social media, putting them in direct violation of Delta policy. Even after an internal investigation, Segev says, they have all kept their jobs.

Segev’s suit follows just two months after another discrimination case against Delta. This lawsuit was opened by flight attendant Sasi Sheva in September.

Sheva reported that the airline refused to give him time off for Yom Kippur, which is the holiest Jewish holiday. He also explained that the airline was discriminating against him by denying his request to pick up vegetarian food and serving him a ham sandwich instead.

FMI: www.delta.com