Israel Matzav

US defends Kuwait Airways discrimination against Israelis

The United States Secretary of Transportation is defending Kuwait Airways against charges of discrimination due to the airline's refusal to carry Israelis on its non-stop New York - London route.

In late 2013, a formal complaint was filed with the U.S. Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) alleging illegal discrimination by Kuwait Airways (KA) on the basis of national origin, in violation of federal law proscribing such discrimination by air carriers. The complaint concerned the airline's refusal to transport Israeli nationals on nonstop flights from New York to London. KA's bigoted policy is readily apparent: to purchase tickets through the airline's website, the passenger must select his or her nationality from a drop-down list of countries, as well as the passport issuing country. Israel is absent from these drop-downs and, consequently, Israeli nationals cannot buy tickets.

The Secretary denied the complaint earlier this year, asserting that KA had not violated any U.S. anti-discrimination law because the airline is required to comply with Kuwaiti law, which prohibits Israeli passport holders from entering Kuwait. As the attorney now pursuing this matter correctly articulated, "In essence, the Secretary determined that Kuwait Airways did not violate U.S. law because that airline was required by Kuwaiti law to discriminate against Israeli nationals." The Secretary's rationale is particularly unfounded because the flight at issue goes from New York to London; the fact that Israeli passport holders cannot enter Kuwait is wholly irrelevant. Moreover, if any entity conducts business in the United States, it must comply with U.S. law.

Dissatisfied with the response, Eldad Gatt, who filed the initial complaint, commenced an action in U.S. federal court in March 2014, appealing the Secretary's denial and requesting appropriate relief, arguing that "[t]he Secretary has officially endorsed Kuwait Airways' policy of boycotting Israeli nationals, and has explicitly authorized Kuwait Airways to continue its blatantly discriminatory practices."

The complainant is hoping that Kuwait Airways will be barred from operating in the United States if it refuses to change its discriminatory practices.

I'm planning a trip next month, so just for the fun of it, I went to Kuwait Airways' website and tried to book a round trip between London and New York. It keeps telling me that there are no flights available. In fact, I even tried pushing the reservation to June and got told no flights available. And I never reached the nationality question. You don't think they're refusing to transport me because my computer is in Israel, do you?

You know, back in 1991, Israel took a whole bunch of missiles for Kuwait....

Just sayin'....

Labels: discrimination, Kuwait, United States

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:27 PM