German ministry opens Kuwait Airways inquiry for denying Israelis passage
Investigation to probe if any laws were broken when airline refused to fly Arab-Israeli passenger from Frankfurt to Thailand
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
WASHINGTON — Germany’s transport minister opened an investigation into whether Kuwait Airways violated laws by denying passage to an Israeli passenger bound for Thailand.
German media reported this week that the Federal Transport Ministry investigation, ordered by Alexander Dobrindt, is in addition to a lawsuit brought by the Israeli, whose ticket from Germany’s Frankfurt airport to Thailand via Kuwait was canceled by the airline because of his nationality.
“Our team will continue to pursue legal action until the German Government makes clear that Kuwait Airways must either comply with the law or cease doing business in their country,” said Brooke Goldstein, the director of the Lawfare Project, an outfit that litigates against anti-Israel discrimination and that is assisting Israelis in taking action against Kuwait Airways.
In another incident, a video by Arab-Israeli Facebook star Nuseir Yassin went viral earlier this year after he was unable to board a Kuwait Airways flight from New York to India.
This is not okay.I said my two cents in the video. Here is the rest of the story: This is not the airline's fault. Don't blame Kuwait Airways. The people that work there were nothing but nice to me and my girlfriend. In fact, they even helped us with our visa to India. They also paid up to put me in a different airline just so I can get to my final destination. Alyne got on their flight with no problems. I didn't lose money here. They just have to work by the laws of the country. And the laws of their country, Kuwait, are what pissed me off. Not the airline.The laws of Israel do not explicitly ban anyone from entering Israel, but they also make it hard enough to get a visa if you're coming from Kuwait. That's also not okay. I am sick of being in the middle of a never ending conflict. Some Arab countries don't like me because I am Israeli, and some Israelis don't like me because I am also Palestinian. It's a lose-lose situation. The only win in my life was to move to the US….LIKE Nas Daily on Facebook!@NasDaily on Instagram! Music: Skyline by Meizong
Posted by Nas Daily on Sunday, October 1, 2017
Yassin was scheduled to fly via Kuwait. When he arrived at the JFK airport he was told that he would not be permitted to travel because he held an Israeli passport and Kuwait does not permit Israeli citizens to enter the country.
In 2016, Kuwait Airways ended its flights between European cities following lawsuits filed against it in Switzerland on behalf of an Israeli who was denied a ticket. The year before, the airline dropped its route from New York to London after the US Department of Transportation ordered it to stop discriminating against Israelis.
The Times of Israel Community.