United Airlines Pilot Launches Antisemitic Tirade at Israeli Journalist: “Go Back to Your Country”
Wearing a Colorado Rockies shirt, the pilot, falsely identifying as “Frank Hondo”, harassed an Israeli reporter, demanding he “return to Israel.” Witnesses described the scene as "Xenophobic, racist, and disturbing".
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A shocking display of antisemitism unfolded in the city of Hartford, Connecticut, when a man who claimed to be a United Airlines pilot verbally attacked an Israeli journalist.
The confrontation occurred at the "Pigs Eye Pub", where the pilot, appearing in his 50s or 60s and wearing a Colorado Rockies shirt, repeatedly targeted the journalist for speaking Hebrew and working on his laptop.
According to the journalist, the man initially mocked him, saying: “Why the hell are you sitting here with a laptop, reading in a language I can’t even understand?” He then escalated the attack with an openly antisemitic remark: “What is he even doing in America? He should just go back to Israel.”
When pressed for his name, the man refused to give his real identity, instead offering “Frank Hondo”, a suspicious alias resembling the nickname of former baseball star Frank Howard, known as “Hondo.” He further claimed he was originially from San Francisco and worked as a pilot for United Airlines now based in Denver, and married to a flight attendant.
The bizarre exchange turned contradictory: after mocking the journalist for working instead of socializing, the pilot later snapped, “You shouldn’t even focus on your work.” The Israeli reporter replied: “You just told me it was weird that I’m working here instead of socializing, and now you’re saying I shouldn’t work at all. Which is it?”
Later the man also clamed that the Israeli is "A liar who should not even be here", and added "he is probably filming me to put this content online".
Eyewitnesses confirmed the hostility. One patron said: “He was clearly irritated just by the fact an Israeli was sitting there. At one point, he downed half his drink, slammed cash on the bar, and left the place”.
The unsettling incident raises questions not only about antisemitism in public spaces, but also about United Airlines’ responsibility to investigate the conduct of someone who identified himself as one of their pilots.
After all, it wouldn’t be the first time United staff have faced accusations of discriminating against Jews.