T-shirt saying, ‘Bombing kids is not self defense,’ offends United Airlines flight attendant
A New Jersey man says his T-shirt nearly got him kicked off a United Airlines flight.
Sam Saadeh, of Linden, was on a flight traveling from Atlanta to Newark Liberty International Airport on June 4 while wearing a T-shirt that said, “Bombing kids is not self defense.”
Saadeh, who is of Palestinian descent, said the T-shirt holds a deeper meaning and advocates for children.
According to a recent United Nations report, more than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza by Israel in what have been described as targeted attacks. The Israeli government has rejected the report and has denied deliberately targeting civilians.
Saadeh told CBS News New York he was “very confused” when a supervisor pulled him off the plane just after boarding.
“He was like, ‘Hey, the flight attendant finds your shirt offensive,’ and I was like, ‘Why?'” Saadeh said. “He goes, ‘Here are the choices. Either you change your shirt or you can’t get on this flight.'”
Both upset and humiliated, Saadeh says he opted to change, but claims he couldn’t get specific answers, even when he landed in Newark, where he spoke to airline personnel.
“She kept saying, like, ‘You could see how the shirt is offensive.’ I was like, ‘I can’t see how the shirt is offensive,'” Saadeh said. “She was like, ‘It’s 2026.’ I was like, ‘I know what year it is.'”
He added, ” ‘Do you think kids shouldn’t be bombed, or kids should be bombed? Like, what are you offended by?'” [Continue reading…]