--- Well, might I suggest that perhaps you should haven't purchased a ticket from Emirates airlines
if you wanted a kosher meal?
I mean, this is the airline (according to the husband who has flown
with them) that on their flight tracker channel there is an icon that
always shows which direction Mecca lies, so Muslims know which
direction to face when they pray. They have extra roomy aisles for
everyone to get down and pray, and they announce that it's prayer time
over the loud speaker. Is it really so shocking that they would refuse
your request for a kosher meal? It's an Arab run airline, based in
Dubai---in the United Arab Emirates.
What the hell did you expect?
Scroll down to the comment section and just read some of the remarks.
They're amazing--every subject is touched upon, everything from Halael
food being offered by El-Al, to how everyone who criticizes or doesn't
bend over backward for all things Jewish is an anti-Semite. The whole
debate is ludicrous in the extreme. Emirates didn't give this guy a
kosher meal, because they weren't prepared for the request. They just assumed that a Jew wouldn't want to fly them anyway.
How, precisely, is this just one more example of Jews being downtrodden
by those awful Arabs? I'm just not seeing it, although there are plenty
of trolls on Silent Running's comment section who would have me lynched
for just such a statement. Well, let the lynching begin, I suppose. My
neck could use a good stretching, I reckon. I always wanted to look
like Audrey Hepburn---here's my chance.
I have two questions. A. Doesn't a privately run company, which
Emirates is, get to dictate what they want to do? B. How is this yet
another example of flagrant Arab anti-Semitism? Emirates,
is a privately held company. This means, in worldwide business lingo,
that they get to dictate what they want to do. In this case, they want
to fly people places. Fine by me. There's a lot of money to be made in
that area, and if you look at some of their financial reports, they're
doing very well. Much better than United or American---which are both
publicly held companies. Emirates, like any other business in the free
world, gets to run its business the way it wants to, providing its not
breaking any laws in the meanwhile. According to some of Silent
Running's commentators, Emirates did have to sign an agreement with the
New Zealand and Australian governments to do business there.
Reportedly, if this is true, Emirates is in violation of those laws
which demand a distinct non-discrimination policy. I don't know if such
a law is in effect and if Emirates is under its shadow. Haven't the
foggiest idea. But, there is always
a lag between what is legal and what is done, and anyone out there with
a grain of common sense knows this. I used to work for Caribou Coffee
Company. Caribou was started up in the early-90's by a pair of
stockbrokers who were tired of frying themselves with work. So they
started a coffee company that grew and grew and grew, and you know
what? They fried themselves all over again, so they sold the company to
an Islamic Investment Bank. Yeesh. Suddenly, there are no pork
sandwiches being sold in the stores. They just don't offer them
anymore. And this is the only concrete example of how they've changed
what is offered in the stores as a result of the ownership switch. Now,
the rumors that are swirling are somthing else, entirely. I've been
told that the women who work there don't think much about promotion
anymore. I've heard that they earn less than their male counterparts.
I've heard stories about how the uniform requirements have changed
because the owners want more modesty. I even heard some really rude
story this summer about an employee who was harrassed by one of her
supervisors but who was afraid to report it because she didn't think
she'd be taken seriously by upper management. Now while it's important
to remember that these are rumors,
none of these things would have happened when I worked there. There
wouldn't have even been a whiff of these sorts of issues. It is, for me
at least, somewhat inconceivable that the company that I used to work
for; a company that was seen as very progressive and a good place to
work is now a workplace pariah, but that's their choice. It may be
different at Caribou, but who am I to say that they're wrong? The
corporate attitude has changed, but they own the joint: they get to
dicate policy. Providing they're not breaking any laws, is it fair for
them to do these things? Yes, I would say it is. Just because it's
despicable behavior doesn't mean they're not allowed to do them. It's
called capitalism. We live in a free market economy. We're "at will"
consumers. If we don't like a product or a service some company
provides, we can go elsewhere.
Now, Tom wanted to fly Emirates. He wanted to show some goodwill toward
the Arabs, and is now surprised when they didn't return his goodwill in
the form of a kosher meal. This still surprises me---not because they
didn't give him one, but that he expected it in the first place, travel
agent promises aside. While it may be Emirates stated policy to make
all of their customers feel welcome and to provide them with everything
they could possibly desire, it doesn't seem out of the realm of
ordinary expectations that they wouldn't provide kosher meals. You
know, because not a lot of Jews would seem to fly their
airline---particularly Jews who keep kosher. It's not good business
sense on Emirates part to pay a caterer for meals for passengers who
aren't going to appear. But Tom's travel agent said she booked him a
kosher meal; it was the airline who didn't cough up said meal. I think
Tom's travel agent is trying to cover her ass. Nowhere on the booking
section of Emirates website, do they say they offer kosher meals. Look for yourself.
So, Tom doesn't really have a leg to stand on here, does he? If a
kosher meal was important to him, he should have checked to make sure
one was available---particularly since he was flying an Arab-owned
airline---and the information was easily accessed. (I mean, if I can
find it, anyone can). Rather than admit he was lazy in just assuming a
kosher meal was available, or going after his travel agent for being
lazy, he'd rather go after the Emirates for not having kosher meals in
the first place. It's anti-Semitism! I'm being discriminated against because I'm a Jew!

What we have here is a conflict between what is done and what is legally required.
I don't know if it's a legal requirement that Emirates have kosher
meals on their flights between Auckland and Melbourne. If it is, then
Emirates should do so. But if it's not, don't whine that they didn't
automatically provide something they didn't feel they should have to
because of what their corporate values, screwy though they are, dictate
they do. Now, to finally get to my second point, which is that there
are some people, Tom included, who see this as yet another example of
flagrant anti-Semitism. I suppose that's fine, if you want to see it
this way. You're allowed your point of view, just as I am allowed mine.
But man, when is this going to stop? And you know what I'm talking
about, I'm sure. Anti-Semitism has no set definition these days. It
covers everything from suicide bombings to mild criticism of Israel's
policies. Everything
that is even remotely critical of anyone and all things Jewish is
anti-Semitism. I don't want this to be true, but as I read some of
these comments, this idea has been reinforced. I'm no anti-Semite. I
don't believe Jews hold all the wealth in the world and control it. I
do not believe they are at fault for the world's ills. I believe Jews
have a right to not only exist, but that they should be allowed to
prosper and flourish without fearing for their lives at the hands of
bigots. But I'm sure someone will say that I am an anti-Semite after
reading this next bit.
Do Jews not realize that they are harming themselves by crying wolf all
the time? You remember the story about the boy who cried wolf, don't
you? The little shepherd boy who was bored with watching sheep so he
thought a good way to liven up his day was by screaming that a wolf was
killing the flock. Everyone ran to help, but there was nothing to do,
no threat to reply to. And the next time he cried wolf, and again there
was no wolf, and again everyone came to help. But when there was a
wolf, and he cried for help, no one came, because they thought he was
bluffing again. Everytime a Jew cries "anti-Semitism," over a kosher
meal that wasn't delivered when he had no reasonable right to expect
one in the first place, he is hurting his cause. It's the same when
someone criticizes Sharon, and Jews scream anti-Semitism. When did
criticizing idiotic actions---no matter the religion or ethnicity of
the idiot---become something you could be labeled for? Particularly
with an anathema of a label, like "anti-Semite." It's horrible. I can
barely comprehend how damn hard it must be to be a Jew in Israel, where
they're surrounded by people who want to kill them simply because of
who they are, or even in America, where we have our own share of
bigots. But calling me, or anyone else, an anti-Semite simply because
we choose not to agree with you---even if we don't hate Jews and don't
root for their destruction---well, that's beyond the pale, and you're
demeaning your own worth in the meanwhile. As my mother would say, if
you can dish it, you should be able to take it. And Israel and Jews in
general, dish "it" a lot. They're vocal about their rights and what
they should have. And that's fine with me but when Jews refuse to
accept criticism and then subsequently adopt an "you're with us
entirely or against us entirely," attitude, which will then get you
labeled as an anti-Semite if you're in the latter category, they're
doing themselves no favors. They're turning people against them because
they refuse to see any gradations. It's so sad. This is what happened
in the comments section of Silent Running. Start at the top and watch
it disentigrate from there on in. The travel agent goofed up, the
author decided to blame the wrong group for the goof, and
then---shocker of shockers---cried wolf. Does this help or hinder the
overall cause of making sure Jews are allowed to live the way they want
to, how they want to and where they want to? I don't think it does.
Crying wolf never helps anything.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:57 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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