Delta Under Fire For Partnering With Jew-Banning Saudi Airline

Jewish groups are slamming Delta Airlines for entering into a partnership with Saudi Arabian Airlines, which, like all airlines, must comply with that country's rules about who flies into the Kingdom, and how. Saudi Arabia bans anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport from entering the country, and it's widely believed that travelers with Jewish-sounding names are also kept out. Women flying into Saudi Arabia must adhere to the dress code and have a male escort waiting for them at the airport, and non-Islamic religious artifacts are not permitted. Of course, some of these nuances were lost in yesterday's sensational headlines about Delta Vs. Jews, with USA Today retracting an inaccurate article claiming that Delta flights traveling to Saudi Arabia would ban Jews.

Delta has no plans to run flights into the Kingdom, but Chron.com clarifies that the airline has partnered with Saudi Arabian Airlines through SkyTeam, an alliance that includes Air France-KLM and Korean Air. Delta insists the partnership with Saudi Arabian is kosher; a spokesperson tells the Wall Street Journal that Delta "won’t code-share with Saudi Arabian — place its flight code on Saudi flights- and won’t offer reciprocal frequent flier benefits." However, Delta customers will fly on Saudi Arabian through "an interline agreement," and this has some Jews outraged.

"The issue here is one of principle," writes Rabbi Jason Miller. "Delta isn't being forced to include Saudi Arabian Airlines into its Sky Team Alliance. In fact, Delta could stand on principle and refuse to include Saudi Arabian Airlines based on its discriminatory policy. No, it's not Delta's fault that the Saudi government is anti-Semitic, but it doesn't have to go along with it. It's as if the Saudis are telling Delta that when it comes to Jewish passengers it's name should become an acronym: 'Don't Even Let Them Aboard.' "

As you can see, it's complicated, and the partnership doesn't officially start until 2012, which still gives American Jews with non-Jewish-sounding names plenty of time to book their dream vacations to Mecca on Delta some other airline before joining the Delta boycott.