Free Republic

Saudi Arabia bans Jews. Really. That came to light recently with public disclosure that Delta Airlines had, as part of an agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia, agreed not to fly any Jews to the Muslim kingdom. Nor can the American air carrier transport any items forbidden by Muslim law, to include alcohol and non-Muslim religious items. Translation: Leave your Bible at home. No item of non-Muslim religious apparel or worship is allowed in the kingdom and Delta has specifically promised not to carry them. In defending itself, Delta says that it is merely observing the culture and law...

A day ago, after a story in USA Today that has since been taken off its website, the Jewish community in the United States was enraged to evidently learn that Delta Airlines, which made Saudi Arabian Airlines one of its partner airlines, would not let Jewish passengers fly on Delta to Saudi Arabia. As the newspaper noted, Delta immediately offered its own explanation written by Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter. His statement proclaimed that “Delta does not discriminate,” but that questions had been raised “about whether Saudi Arabian Airlines’ membership in SkyTeam means Delta is adopting any type of policies that...

Delta Air Lines' plan to add Saudi Arabian Airlines to its SkyTeam Alliance of partnering companies would require the American carrier to ban Jews and holders of Israeli passports from boarding flights from New York or Washington bound for Jeddah, prompting outraged accusations of illegal religious discrimination. The issue, which has caught the attention of the American Center for Law and Justice already, was raised when Washington attorney Jeffrey Lovitky was perusing airline procedures for travel.