Air Canada Grounds Pilot After He Posted Pictures Attending Anti-Israel Rallies

An Air Canada jet takes off from Trudeau Airport in Montreal on June 30, 2022. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

Air Canada has grounded one of its pilots after social media allegations were made that he posted messages and photos of himself attending anti-Israel rallies.

“We are aware of the unacceptable posts made by an Air Canada pilot. We are taking this matter very seriously, and he was taken out of service on Mon, Oct. 9,” Air Canada said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Oct. 10.

“We firmly denounce violence in all forms,” said the airline, which up until the events in Israel, offered non-stop, direct flights to Tel Aviv from Toronto and Montreal.

Air Canada and other major carriers stopped flights into Israel following the attacks against the country by the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 7. In response to the attacks, Israel declared a state of war on Oct. 7 and began air strikes on Gaza.

A number of social media posts show an individual in pictures that include a pilot’s uniform, with a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestine headscarf, around his neck. The photos were identified by the New York-based Stop Antisemitism, a non-profit organization that alleged the pilot has flight duties as part of Air Canada’s Dreamliner fleet of Boeing 787s, which fly to overseas destinations including Israel.

In one social media post, the pilot shared a poster from the Palestinian Youth Movement, announcing a Montreal protest on Oct. 8, which added the words, “[Expletive] you Israel. Burn in hell,” with a cartoon dog urinating on the Israeli flag.

The man in question has since deleted his social media accounts, but the photos have been shared by others. His LinkedIn account, now also deleted, indicated he was a Boeing 787 First Officer, Class 1 flight instructor with Air Canada, and holds both United States FAA and Canadian Airline Transport pilot’s licences.

A second photo shows the man at a rally in what looks to be Montreal, wearing a Palestinian bandana around his head and holding a sign with a stick figure putting an Israeli flag into a bucket with handwritten words, “Keep the world clean.”

The third photo shows the man, again with a Palestinian bandana and matching coloured mask over his nose and mouth, at a pro-Palestine rally with a sign saying: “Isr*el, Hitler is proud of you. Terrorist State.” Two children are pictured on the sign with other writing that is too small to be legible.

In recent days, politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford, have condemned anti-Israel rallies held following the Hamas terrorist attacks against the Jewish state.