{"id":94377,"date":"2026-09-02T10:32:37","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T15:32:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=94377"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:32:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T15:32:37","slug":"brussels-airlines-workers-threaten-strike-over-flights-to-israel-citing-ethical-objections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/brussels-airlines-workers-threaten-strike-over-flights-to-israel-citing-ethical-objections\/","title":{"rendered":"Brussels Airlines workers threaten strike over flights to Israel, citing ethical objections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By SHIRA LI BARTOV<\/p>\n<p>(JTA) \u2014&nbsp;A Belgian union has threatened to strike against Brussels Airlines for compelling staff to work on flights to Israel, saying that anyone with \u201csafety or conscientious objections\u201d should be able to refuse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_94379\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-scaled.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94379\" class=\"wp-image-94379 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/169;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-94379\" class=\"wp-image-94379 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hamburg_Airport_Brussels-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-94379\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Belgium Airflines jet. (By MarcelX42 via Wikipedia)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>ACV Puls, Belgium\u2019s largest trade union, said on Tuesday that the company was breaking previous agreements to rely on volunteers for flights to Tel Aviv. The airline resumed flights to Tel Aviv on August 3, following a five-month pause because of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, and its first flights were operated with volunteers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSerious concerns exist among the staff regarding both physical safety and the mental and ethical impact of these flights,\u201d ACV Puls spokesperson Jolinde Defieuw said in a statement. She added that making staffing mandatory was \u201cparticularly serious in the context of the ongoing war and the genocide in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The notice launched by cabin crew representatives said that a strike could follow if Brussels Airlines does not reverse its decision to resume regular staffing. They argued that flying to Israel could not be deemed sufficiently safe, citing Belgium\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which advises against \u201call non-essential travel to Israel and Jerusalem.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>ACV Puls, one of three unions active at Brussels Airlines, also said that workers should be able to decline the flights for ethical reasons. Those who have \u201csafety or conscientious objections must be able to refuse these flights without financial, professional, or disciplinary consequences,\u201d said the union.<\/p>\n<p>Nico Cardone, a spokesperson for Brussels Airlines, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that safety was the company\u2019s \u201chighest priority, whether we operate with volunteers or not.\u201d He added that the airline was \u201cnot a political party\u201d and made decisions about flight operations based on safety and demand.&nbsp;The company currently operates three flights a week to Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not engage in political discussions about the governments of certain destinations, and we ask our staff to uphold this same professional standard,\u201d said Cardone.<\/p>\n<p>ACV Puls said the airline was compelling crews to work because it had not found enough volunteers. Cardone disputed that, saying the airline always aimed to return to regular crew scheduling over time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Along with threatening a strike, the union called on the Belgian government to weigh in. ACV Puls said the government should take a stance on the availability of commercial flights to Israel \u201cdespite the ongoing war, the massive civilian casualties, and the serious accusations of war crimes and human rights violations against the Palestinian population.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Belgium has grown increasingly critical of Israel\u2019s conduct in Gaza and Israeli settlements in the West Bank since 2023. Earlier this year, Belgium barred aircraft carrying military equipment bound for Israel from crossing its airspace. The government in July approved a ban on goods imported from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Brussels%20Airlines%20workers%20threaten%20strike%20over%20flights%20to%20Israel%2C%20citing%20ethical%20objections\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":94379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[15337,8790,8795,8788],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94377"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94377"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94380,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94377\/revisions\/94380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}