A prominent airline has received a rebuke from Australia’s national Jewish organisation after staff displayed Palestinian flag pins on a domestic flight.

A man who was not Jewish took photos of the Qantas cabin crew wearing the badges on a flight from Melbourne to Hobart on December 20.

He spotted the badges during the flight’s food service and told Sky News Australia that he felt “intimidated” by the “divisive” display.

Robert Gregory, CEO of the Australian Jewish Association, said passengers should not be subjected to political activism.

“If employees are found to be using their roles for political activism while passengers are essentially captive in the air, they should be dismissed,” he added.

It comes after a Jewish woman said a Qantas staff member had harassed her about Israel's war against Hamas in November.

Karin Kalif claims a check-in employee asked her if she could “hear the bombs” her “government is dropping?” before adding: “It’s terrible what your government is doing.”

The Brisbane woman, who had friends who killed in the October 7 attack, filed a complaint with the airline.

A spokesperson for Qantas stated that crew members cannot “wear any badges unless they are part of the approved uniform policy” and that “every customer should feel safe and respected when flying on a Qantas Aircraft.”

The airline said they would be “counselling” the crew members regarding their on-the-job advocacy against Israel.

JNS contributed to this report