Passenger's 'Israel' mention during Uber ride nets 'disrespectful language' complaint

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OTTAWA — Mentioning Israel during a recent Uber ride allegedly netted a Toronto woman an official warning from the U.S.-based rideshare company, which chalked up the situation to a misunderstanding.

Earlier this month, the woman — whom TheToronto Sun has agreed to identify as Louise out of concerns for her safety — hired an Uber to take her and a friend on a short trip north of Toronto.

“It was friendly, I typically say hi to the driver,” Louise told the Sun. 

“I said ‘thanks for waiting,’ because he had waited an extra minute or two.”

The passengers’ conversation during the brief ride, she said, largely centred around her friend’s parents in Israel — a benign conversation free from politics or sensitive topics that largely centered around business.

The next day, Louise was shocked to find a message from Uber customer support — informing her that her “disrespectful language” made her driver feel “uncomfortable,” and that further infractions would result in the suspension of her Uber account.

“We didn’t speak with the driver, the only thing we said was ‘thank you’ and ‘bye,'” Louise said.

“We didn’t talk about the war or the conflict, we didn’t share a political view — the conversation wasn’t even that deep.”

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Louise said she didn’t hear from Uber until after the Sun got involved.

On Monday, Louise received a call from Uber insisting the “disrespectful language” complaint was made in error by the driver, whom they say was attempting to report a traffic issue through Uber’s automated system that somehow got transformed into accusations of offensive conduct.

“We have investigated this report, and it appears that this message was sent in error to the rider,” Uber spokesperson Gabriela Condarco-Quesada told the Sun.

“We apologize for the miscommunication and have reached out to the rider directly.”

During that call, Louise was told her driver attempted to report a motorist who stopped while attempting to make a left-hand turn — but told the Sun no such incident took place during her ride.

She was also told accusations of disrespectful language were also scrubbed from her account, but said the situation left her rattled.

“The fact my Uber account could be threatened because someone said the word ‘Israel,’ it’s such a covert form of antisemitism,” she said.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume