A Jewish flight attendant is suing Delta Airlines for religious discrimination, claiming that he was served a ham sandwich by his employer and on another occasion he was not allowed to take the day off on Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day in the Jewish year.
According to a Brooklyn federal court filing, Sasi Sheva, 44, an Israeli who lives in Encino, California, has worked for Delta for 2.5 years in good standing, as reported by the New York Post.
During that time the airline “has intentionally discriminated and retaliated against ethnically Jewish, Hebrew-speaking and/or Israeli employees, based on their race and ancestry,” adds the suit.
Sheva’s complaint related to an incident on July 12, 2022, while he was in the middle of a work trip. Delta switched the timing of his intended assignments on that day, court papers state, and transported Sheva in a van to the runway for his next flight, with the intention of avoiding delay.
Despite Sheva’s employee profile “clearly stating he is Hebrew-speaking, Jewish and vegetarian, he was provided with a ham sandwich.
He did not get a chance to eat and the airline ignored his “numerous requests to stop for a few minutes in the concourse, so that he could purchase a vegetarian snack,” he states in the suit.
Sheva was not satisfied with this approach and alleges that his request to take off Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, in October 2022 was also “refused in bad faith and with no justification.”
“Delta has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind as part of our deeply-held values as a global airline connecting the world,” a Delta spokesman said.