A United Airlines pilot has been ‘removed from service with pay’ after posting dozens of messages on Facebook expressing support for Hamas in the aftermath of the terror group’s barbaric assault on Israel that killed 1,200 people on October 7.
United pilot Ibrahim R. Mossallam described the attack on civilians across southern Israel as ‘resistance by brave people who have endured decades of occupation, oppression, humiliation, apartheid, and straight up murder.’
‘For all my friends here in FB land with Questions/Thoughts/Assumptions/Critique about what’s transpiring in Palestine, currently in response to the Zionist occupation, please work on expanding your media literacy,’ he added.
Mossallam said that the US media is ‘heavily politicized and skewed to show a non-occupying narrative of Palestine.’
The disgraced pilot also argued that the attack on Israel was ‘not provoked’ but rather was a ‘response to years of attacks by the Zionist regime.’
On Tuesday, United told the outlet DailyMail.com that Mossallam was taken out of service with pay as an investigation is carried out. The carrier said that Mossallam was only removed from service on November 20, the same day that his social media posts became public knowledge.
United pilot Ibrahim R. Mossallam is reported to have been removed from service after his pro-Palestine social media were made public
On the day that Hamas launched its barbaric assault on Israel, Mossallam posted this message on Facebook
In addition to his flying career, Mossallam is also the board vice president for the New York chapter of the Council on American-Israel Relations.
DailyMail.com has also reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration and CAIR for comment on this story.
Mossallam’s posts were first highlighted by the activist group Stop Antisemitism.
The group asked in a post on X exposing his activities: ‘How can Jewish passengers feel safe with this man flying their plane?’
That sentiment was echoed by many commenters. One wrote: ‘I am never getting on another United flight until this pilot is fired! I do not feel safe flying with you anymore.’
‘We expect this guy to be fired asap, putting your passengers at risk with every flight,’ another wrote. While another said: ‘This pilot needs to be grounded. I am a frequent flyer with you and this pilot makes me feel very unsafe.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to United Airlines for comment on his story
The group also posted cached pictures from Mossallam’s Facebook page. At the time of writing, many of those posts have been removed. His profile largely contains his commentary in the aftermath of October 7.
On November 20, he wrote in a post: ‘Keep being the voice of real victims: the occupied, not the evil occupier.’
Mossallam’s profile also includes three pictures of the silhouette lights that are projected from the location of where the twin towers once stood in Manhattan. This practice takes place annually around the anniversary of 9/11.
Since November 2012, Mossallam has also had a graphic as his profile pictures that reads ‘Gaza is bleeding.’
In a 2012 interview with the website Brooklyn Ink, Mossallam discussed volunteering as an outreach director to with the Muslim American Society.
‘Mossallam says his job is to show Muslims how to interact with non-Muslims, live as law-abiding Americans but still maintain their Muslim identity,’ one section of the article reads.
In the article, Mossallam says that in the wake of 9/11 many Muslims were scared to pray publicly which negatively effected assimilation.
‘The first thing is to not be ashamed of being Muslim. You do want to fit in, but not too much. When you walk down the street you don’t want someone to say ‘Oh there goes John’ or ‘There goes David’, you want them to recognize and say “Oh there goes Muhammad” or “There goes Ibrahim.”‘
In his role with the Muslim American Society, Mossallam said that he helped to open a mosque in Sheepshead Bay, an historically Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn.
According to a Facebook post from the Muslim American Society, Mossallam is married with children. In college he studied aeronautical science and world religions.
Air Canada acted, grounding Mostafa Ezzo, when his anti-Israel social media posts were made apparent
This follows an incident in October in which an Air Canada pilot was fired after he was shown to have posted messages in support of Hamas.
First Officer Mostafa Ezzo, who is based out of Montreal, even posted a photo showing him in his uniform with a Palestinian flag. Ezzo piloted a B787 aircraft.
‘We are aware of the unacceptable posts made by an Air Canada pilot. We are taking this matter very seriously, and he was taken out of service on Mon, Oct. 9. We firmly denounce violence in all forms,’ Air Canada wrote in a post on X.
Ezzo promoted a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Montreal which took place on Sunday, the day after Hamas’s brutal assault on Israeli citizens began. ‘F*** you Israel, burn in hell,’ he added to the post.
In other posts that have spread online, Ezzo referred to the Jewish state as a ‘terorist [sic] state’ as well as posting a photo showing him with a sign reading: ‘Israel, Hitler is proud of you.’