DeltaGate Part Deux: This Time It’s Political

*To be read in the voice of Don LaFontaine*

In a world…

Where multiple airlines defer to the prejudiced demands of the Saudi regime…

One airline…

Kicks it up a notch.

 

Coming this February to an in-flight movie near you…

DeltaGate Part Deux: This Time It’s Political

Last summer, there was a big brouhaha over whether Delta airlines was enabling Saudi Arabia’s discriminatory policies in the name of big bidness.

However, while Delta and other airlines do sanction the bigotry of the Saudis, the fact that Delta was a passive accomplice rather than an active partisan relegated the story to the back burner. And as the news cycles have generated many larger, more rage-worthy stories since then, we haven’t heard much about it in recent months.

Well, it’s sequel time, and this time, passive intolerance has metastasized into malignant political bias. This one’s not going to be as easy for Delta to explain away by saying all the kids are doing it.

Our scene opens with a wide shot of the Middle East SkyMiles mileage page on the Delta website:


Suddenly, a red oval appears, drawing the viewer’s eye to the action.

The camera zooms in on the text, revealing a fictional locale, highlighted in red.

Cut to the “Middle East” popup for another angle. Still there.

Aaaand scene!

Hmm. It ends a little abruptly. Ah, forget it: we’ll fix it in post.

Couple of announcements:

It seems Delta will be flying all of us to “Occupied Palestinian Territory” for the wrap party. Not sure what city the airport’s in, though.

Wait, here it is: Tel Al-Rabi.

 

Finally, Craft Service is being sponsored by Delta today, so let’s make damn sure there are no Israeli products on the table this time, people.

That’s lunch!

(h/t @DrMikeCohen)

16 thoughts on “DeltaGate Part Deux: This Time It’s Political”

  1. OK, I’m not too crazy about Delta Airlines, but for a whole host of other reasons. Let me try to understand your point completely by asking this question: What is the term you would use to identify this geographic area and would that term be universally acceptable to all parties?

    1. I think it’s the “Occupied” bit that’s the problem here. If they had written “Palestinian Authority” then, although I privately don’t like it (to put it mildly), it could still be regarded as deference to an international status quo—the way things are. But as soon as you write “Occupied,” you’ve expressed an opinion. That’s overreach.

      1. Like Dore Gold and others, I consider the West Bank to be “disputed territory” and the term “occupied” as politically-loaded. Although when I think of the term “Palestinian Authority” I think of a political entity, not a location. I tend to use the terms West Bank and Gaza Strip, believing them to be politically neutral and geographically descriptive.

        1. “Like Dore Gold and others, I consider…”

          That’s my point: “I consider.” What is an “I consider” bit—no matter whose side—doing on an airline company’s website? “Occupied X” has absolutely no place here.

          “Although when I think of the term ‘Palestinian Authority’ I think of a political entity, not a location.”

          The same can be said about “Israel.” Historically speaking, the mainstream reference to the geographic location in which both pre- and post-1967 Israel is situated has been “Palestine” since the 2nd century CE. Today, however, ever since the cooking up of that fictitious narrative of a non-Jewish “Palestinian nation,” that name is no longer either neutral or merely geographic.

          But this isn’t germane to this discussion, for, as the screenshots show, the list at Delta Airlines is of states, not geographic locations. Which is why “Palestinian Authority” would be the more-or-less neutral, try-to-keep-out-of-trouble choice on this list alongside Bahrain, Egypt, Kazakhstan etc.

          “I tend to use the terms West Bank and Gaza Strip, believing them to be politically neutral and geographically descriptive.”

          I unfortunately have to agree as things stand right now. It is my wish for this status quo to change, into “Judea and Samaria” being the mainstream appellation instead of “West Bank,” but currently the status quo is as you say.

          Neutrality isn’t really possible, so I’d settle for Delta Airlines trying to give an appearance. Their choice of the term “Occupied Palestine” may be ignorant or unwise rather than malicious, but they need to be called on it.

  2. I don’t understand how you can gather air miles by flying from the Palestinian territories, occupied or not. Israel has only one international airport and that is situated near Tel Aviv. Even if you add in Sde Dov and/or Ovda, these are not in any Palestinian territories. The PA doesn’t have an airport at all, international or local. So what is Delta talking about (besides making nice with the Arabs of course)?

    1. Exactly right, Annie. That’s the point I was making when I wrote this:

      It seems Delta will be flying all of us to “Occupied Palestinian Territory” for the wrap party. Not sure what city the airport’s in, though.

      Wait, here it is: Tel Al-Rabi.

      1. well said jim.
        video was not visable page re-loaded twice and posted before ready,also when i saw this story i did a wikipedia search which came up not known but google showed wikipedia and of course it has the infomation,i cant remember all the various disputes that have/are brought against us regarding our lands,over the years and will continue till the end of time,or rather the end of our enemies.

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