World Jewish News

On Wednesday, Israel's Tourism Minister Yair Levin said 'such a company has no place in the skies of the state of Israel and its name should be erased from the flight billboard at Ben Gurion Airport'

Brussels Airlines under fire on social media for removing Halva bar from its menu, 'hypocrisy, anti-Semitism, discriminatio

“I’ll never ever fly with your company,” a Twitter user wrote as Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines has come under fire on social media platforms after it removed an Israeli snack from its in-flight menu because it is manufactured in the ‘’occupied West Bank.’’

Many accused Brussels Airlines of ‘’hypocrisy, anti-Semitism and discrimination.’’

The halva vanilla bar offered by the airlines is produced by Achva company which is located in the Barkan industrial plant in Samaria, the northern West Bank, near the city of Ariel.

According to The Algemeiner news website, users flooded the Brussels Airlines Facebook page, with comments slamming the airline’s “stupid decision,” with some characterizing the company as “scumbag racists” who “discriminate against Israelis and Jews.”

Many urged a “counter-boycott.” A “Boycott Brussels Airlines” Facebook page was created, calling on “Jews and Christian Zionists who love Israel” to stand up in defense of the Jewish state. “If Brussels Airlines boycotts Israeli products, we will not fly Brussels Airlines,” a description on the page reads.

One user said that he had cancelled four tickets he booked through the airline for a family vacation.

On Facebook, another user branded the company’s decision as a form of “new anti-Semitism,” while another said he “will not fly Brussels again until they take a clear stance to disassociate themselves from hate groups like BDS. Leave politics out of airline meals!”

Eugene Kontorovich, an expert on constitutional and international law, hit back at reports that the airline removed because it is produced in the “occupied West Bank,” by calling attention to the behavior of Brussels Airlines’ shareholder ING Nederland, which do business in northern Cyprus occupied by Turkey.

On Wednesday, Israel’s Tourism Minister Yariv Levin sharply criticized the airline’s decision, saying the “invalid decision… places a black flag of shame on the tails of the company’s planes,” adding, “Such a company has no place in the skies of the state of Israel and its name should be erased from the flight billboard at Ben Gurion Airport.”

Brussels Airlines didn’t respond to a call from European Jewish Press for comments but earlier this week the company described the origin of the halva “controversial,” saying it was added to the menu without approval from the airline by a local catering company.

“We have stopped serving that product on our flights, as it was not what we had ordered, it was a mistake by our supplier,” it said.

It later said that the decision ‘’was not a boycott of Israel.’’

“Brussels Airlines has been flying to Israel for 13 years, and we have never ceased to do so, not even during the conflict of two years ago (only one flight cancelled during that period),” the statement read.

“It is our only destination in the Middle East. We are there to stay, and we offer many Israeli products on board our flights, which we choose sovereignly. We do not mix in political discussions and stay neutral.”

The airline operates 11 flights to and from Tel Aviv weekly.

Belgian media however cited Palestinian Solidariteit, a pro-Palestinian group linked to the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, as being behind the airline’s decision.

EJP