Jetstar worker allegedly used staff discount to fly to Israel, then volunteered with IDF
Palestinian advocacy group calls on the Qantas Group to investigate
The Qantas Group is being urged to investigate whether an alleged employee of the airline used a staff discounted flight to travel to Israel to volunteer for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
Valerie Brenda Malae, a Samoan national who just recently passed her Australian citizenship exam, extensively documented her week of volunteer logistics service with the IDF's 512th 'Paran' Brigade in May. A source at Jetstar told Deepcut that Malae is currently an employee at the airline, but neither Jetstar nor the Qantas Group responded to questions confirming her employment.
Posting on Facebook under the name Tamaita'i Samoa Moni ('The Spirit of a True Samoan Girl'), Malae shared dozens of posts, photos and videos of her trip, including her boarding passes, nights out and days at the beach with fellow volunteers, a day-by-day accounting of her service with the Paran Brigade, and footage depicting explosions and gunfire in the Gaza Strip.
"A very proud Samoan volunteering in logistics for the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) south of Israel near the Gaza/Egypt border! Standing with Israel 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱", Malae posted on May 5.
"Beautful (sic) smiles after a long hard day out in the desert at the Gaza Boarder (sic)”, Malae posted on the same day.
"People from all parts of the world....countries represented in my volunteer group are Germany, USA (LA, Oregon, Philadelphia) Samoa, Poland and Brazil. We have one thing in common....WE LOVE ISRAEL🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱."
"I am the ONLY SAMOAN ever volunteering in Israeli Defence Force (IDF) combat in Israel", Malae claims in one comment.
‘On my way to Tel Aviv in the jump seat’
Malae's posts show she flew Jetstar business class from Melbourne to Bangkok on April 26 before flying El Al to Tel Aviv the following day. Malae uploaded photos of her boarding passes and selfies with her Jetstar cabin crew to Facebook, writing that she flew to Tel Aviv "in the jump seat" – an extra seat for airline crew members typically located in the cabin or cockpit.
"Hopefully my hebrew will improve by the time we arrive by chatting with pilots for 10hrs 55mins", Malae posted.
"Many thanks to Captain David and his team on EL AL for an amazing flight," she wrote in another post. "Jump seat (crew rest) is not the best seat on a 10hr 55min flight but Im not complaing (sic) as I got on the flight!"
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network said the Qantas Group, Jetstar’s parent company, “needs to take responsibility and urgently investigate how its staff benefits were used in this way”.
“We’re alarmed at this Qantas employee’s use of staff travel perks to fly to Israel to serve with Israel’s Occupation Force while it is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” APAN president Nasser Mashni said.
“International law makes clear that responsibility for preventing gross legal violations isn’t just on states, but on companies too – they must ensure their policies and practices don’t enable or support atrocity crimes.”
‘I had to cover their faces with hearts’
In numerous group photos, Malae covers the faces of several IDF soldiers with the love-heart emoji.
"For the safety of our soldiers in the photo I had to cover their faces with hearts which represent our love and support for them ❤️❤️❤️🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱 AM ISRAEL CHAI 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱", Malae posted on May X.
In January, the IDF ordered troops on combat duty to cover or blur their faces when posting on social media. The directive came after an IDF reservist holidaying in Brazil fled the country with the help of Israel's foreign ministry after a Brazilian judge ordered federal police to investigate whether the soldier had committed war crimes in Gaza. The case was brought before the Federal Court of Brazil's Federal District by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and included Palestinian families whose homes were destroyed by the IDF as plaintiffs.
"This individual actively contributed to the destruction of homes and livelihoods, and his own statements and behaviour clearly align with the genocidal objectives in Gaza", HRF lead lawyer Maira Pinheiro said at the time.
Deepcut does not suggest Malae was personally involved in combat or potential war crimes committed by the IDF in Gaza.
'I'm getting goosebumps'
Before her week of volunteer service began, Malae posted extensively about her holidaying in Israel with fellow IDF volunteers.
"Our last night together as a family before we head out to volunteer at different IDF locations," reads a May 4 post.
"When we are not volunteering we are all on the beach!" she wrote in one Facebook comment.
On April 29, Malae travelled to a lookout on Kobe's Hill outside Sderot, a small Israeli city closely adjoining northern Gaza.
A video Malae posted to Facebook shows a view of the northern Gaza Strip from atop the hill, including smoke rising from the aftermath of explosions and the sound of gunfire.
"You can hear, I dunno, bombs going off, and see smoke further up ahead," an unseen voice says in the video.
"Wow, you can hear it! I'm getting goosebumps."
Israeli attacks on the northern Gaza cities of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia killed four Palestinians on April 29 — the day Malae travelled to Sderot.
Since 2009, the lookout has become infamous as the site of 'Sderot cinema' — a place where Israelis and international tourists gather to watch Israeli warplanes bomb the northern Gaza Strip. In 2014, footage of Israelis gathering at the lookout with binoculars, camp chairs and popcorn to cheer the aerial bombardment of Gaza drew international condemnation.
‘I passed my Australian citizenship test!’
On April 9, Malae posted a letter from the Department of Home Affairs notifying her that she had passed her Australian citizenship test.
Responding to questions, a Department of Home Affairs representative said that while the department does not comment on individual cases, “individuals applying for Australian citizenship must satisfy the requirements of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which include good character and national security requirements”.
An open application before the International Court of Justice alleges that the Israeli government and the IDF have committed and are committing genocide against the Palestinian people, including through mass killing, expulsion and displacement, the destruction of homes and essential infrastructure and the blockade of food, water and medical aid.
APAN criticised “the Australian government’s continued failure to issue warnings and intervene to prevent people from flying from Australia to serve with Israel’s forces”.
“For more than 18 months, civil society groups have urged the Australian government to meet its obligations under the Genocide Convention, including by issuing clear warnings against travelling to support Israel's Occupation Forces as they commit genocide in Gaza and escalate their violence across the rest of Palestine,” Mashni said.
Malae was contacted but did not respond in time for publishing. She has since made her social media accounts private.
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