Jewish passengers on an Iberia flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid discovered antisemitic messages written on their kosher meal trays, with "Free Palestine" and "FP" inscriptions appearing on multiple servings, prompting Argentina's leading Jewish organization to demand immediate explanations from the airline.
The Delegation of Israeli Associations of Argentina (DAIA) has received multiple complaints from passengers about antisemitic inscriptions discovered on kosher meal trays during an Iberia flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid, Enfoque Judío reported. The controversial messages included handwritten "Free Palestine" slogans and "FP" abbreviations targeting Jewish travelers who had requested religious dietary accommodations.
"Serious act of antisemitism on Iberia flight reported to DAIA. On flight IB0102 Buenos Aires–Madrid, passenger Salvador Auday received his kosher meal tray with the inscription Free Palestine," DAIA announced, according to Enfoque Judío. The organization serves as Argentina's equivalent to Spain's Federation of Jewish Communities.
According to the complaint filed with Argentina's premier Jewish institution, "other Jewish passengers also received trays with the initials FP," representing an apparent acronym for the same "Free Palestine" slogan. The incident has prompted widespread concern within Argentina's Jewish community about systematic targeting during international air travel.
DAIA officials have "condemned" the occurrence as a "discriminatory act" and confirmed they are in "contact with airline authorities to demand explanations and immediate actions." The organization's strong response reflects growing concerns about antisemitic incidents affecting Jewish passengers on commercial airlines.
Grave acto de antisemitismo en vuelo de @Iberia denunciado en la DAIA
En el vuelo IB0102 Buenos Aires–Madrid, el pasajero Salvador Auday recibió su bandeja de comida kosher con la leyenda "Free Palestine". Otros pasajeros judíos también recibieron bandejas con las iniciales… pic.twitter.com/2srkgOGIQU
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) August 4, 2025
Victor Garelik, the institution's executive director, told Enfoque Judío that he currently had no "new details" regarding the case, stating that "we are formally demanding explanations and relevant investigations from Iberia." The formal complaint process has begun while DAIA seeks comprehensive answers from the Spanish airline about security protocols and catering procedures.
Enfoque Judío contacted passenger Salvador Auday, who had already boarded a connecting flight to Israel, to confirm details about the discriminatory incident. Through WhatsApp messages from the aircraft, Auday verified the reports that had circulated across multiple media outlets throughout recent hours.
Auday explained that he reported the incident to the aircraft's purser, who documented the complaint with photographs and apologized through all available channels. "Personally, I imagine it was an action by the supplier, but I don't know. I asked to see some other sealed meals and indeed they had 'FP' written with the same pen," he told Vis á Vis. "Apparently it wasn't any crew member, so if the food came from outside, I imagine Iberia will conduct an internal investigation of its suppliers and procedures. That's precisely why I reported it, so it doesn't go unnoticed."
The AMIA leader confirmed to the Argentine Jewish News Agency that several Jewish passengers who requested kosher meals received trays bearing handwritten "Free Palestine" inscriptions. He added that the flight crew "got actively involved, and even the aircraft captain left his cabin during flight and came to apologize on behalf of the company." Through his formal complaint, he explained, his sole objective was ensuring "these things don't go unaddressed."
"Unfortunately, we are increasingly seeing acts of antisemitism in the world, and if we don't stand up front, we will end up normalizing them. That's what no Jew, and much less one who is active within the community sphere, can allow," Auday concluded. The incident occurs amid Iberia's connection to the same airline group as Vueling, which expelled 52 French Jewish teenagers and their supervisors from a Valencia aircraft on July 23.
In that incident, the Jewish group was taken off the plane and their counsellor was apparently detained with excessive force for no obvious reason. The group said it was targeted by the airline for no valid reason.
The roughly 50 Jewish children returning from summer camp were forcibly removed from a Valencia-to-Paris flight after one child sang a Hebrew song, prompting police intervention that resulted in their 21-year-old supervisor being handcuffed and detained. i24NEWS reported the incident based on testimony from parent Karine Lamy, whose child was among the affected travelers.
The confrontation began when flight crew aboard the Spanish airline Vueling threatened the singing child, according to Lamy's account to i24NEWS. "If you continue, we will call the police," crew members allegedly told the young passenger who had been singing in Hebrew. Despite the child immediately stopping the song, police officers boarded the aircraft minutes later and ordered the group supervisor and all children to exit the plane before takeoff.
