British Airline Virgin Atlantic is under fire for removing the word "Palestinian" from a dish on its in-flight economy class menu ... in another shameful attempt to put Palestinians in the shadows.
The airline removed the word Palestine from "Palestinian couscous salad" following an unspecified number of complaints it received from pro-Israel customers who deemed the term to be "offensive", a spokesperson told The Electronic Intifada.
The dish, which Virgin Atlantic acknowledged is a Palestinian recipe, was being served for economy class travelers in December 2017.
"Our salad is made using a mix of maftoul (traditional Palestinian couscous) and couscous," the spokesperson said.
However, knowing that they were right and had simply stated a factual truth, the airline still went on to apologize for the "offense caused"...
"However, we always want to do the right thing for our customers and as a result of feedback, we have renamed this menu item from our food offering at the end of last year and we’re extremely sorry for any offense caused," the spokesperson added.
People across different social media platforms couldn't help but criticize Virgin Atlantic for succumbing to third-party pressures.
"Should I remove 'Palestinian' from my ethnic identity to avoid offending anyone?"
"Shame on you"
"So, my mere existence is offensive?"
"Virgin Atlantic correctly identified a dish as Palestinian. So why is it apologizing for it?"
"God forbid we name something what is it"
"Absurd"
"We need to remove the word 'virgin' from Virgin Atlantic ... as it has become a prostitute of Zionism"
The "P word?"
How it started...
In December, Twitter user @Thedaniwilliams shared a photo of Virgin Atlantic's in-flight menu which included a Palestinian couscous salad at the top of the list.
In his tweet, the user mocked and criticized the airline for believing in truth and called them "Terrorist Sympathisers".
"This is the menu I received yesterday. Nothing like some BDS and delusionment with your salad. Last time you get my money #TerroristSympathisers," he wrote.
This sparked a debate online, with many online users backing William's statement.
An unnamed journalist also approached the airline, asking it to remove the word "Palestinian", according to Electronic Intifada.