Jewish flight attendant sues Delta after being served ham sandwich, getting denied day off on Yom Kippur

Something isn’t kosher here.

A Jewish flight attendant is suing Delta Airlines, claiming religious discrimination after he was served a ham sandwich by his employer and not allowed to take the day off on Yom Kippur, according to a federal lawsuit.

Sasi Sheva, 44, an Israeli from Encino, Calif., has worked for Delta for two-and-a-half years in good standing, the Brooklyn federal court filing says.

But the airline “has engaged in a pattern of intentionally discriminating and retaliating against ethnically Jewish, Hebrew and/or Israeli employees based upon their race and ancestry,” adds the suit.

The flight attendant has worked for Delta for two-and-a-half years, according to the lawsuit. AP

Sheva’s beef dates back to July 12, 2022, while he was in the middle of a work trip, when Delta
switched up the timing of its flights on the day of his intended assignment, court papers state.

Due to the airplane audible, Delta transported Sheva in a van to the runway for his next flight to avoid delay, the filing says.

Sheva claims he was given a ham sandwich despite his employee profile ‘clearly stating’ that he is Jewish and vegetarian. Kevin P. Coughlin

However, Sheva had not had a chance to eat and the airline ignored his “numerous requests for a ‘safety break’ to obtain a meal,” the court papers charge.

Besides keeping kosher, Sheva is also a vegetarian. So he requested Delta managers “stop for a few minutes in the concourse so that he could purchase a vegetarian snack,” he says in the suit.

Despite Sheva’s employee profile “clearly stating he is Hebrew-speaking, Jewish and vegetarian, he was provided with a ham sandwich,” the suit alleges.

That did not fly with Sheva, who also alleges his request to take off Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, in October 2022 was also “refused in bad faith and with no justification.”

“Delta has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind as part of our deeply-held values as a global airline connecting the world,” a Delta spokesman said.

Neither Sheva nor his attorney returned messages.