A Jewish model from Toronto says an Uber driver ordered her out of the vehicle in the middle of the night after overhearing her mention a recent trip to Israel.
In an interview with the National Post, Miriam Mattova — a 33-year-old Slovak-Canadian and former Miss Slovakia — said the incident occurred shortly after midnight on Nov. 30.
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Slovak-Canadian model Miriam Mattova visits Kibbutz Be'eri, southern Israel
(Photo: from social media)
According to Mattova, a friend booked her a ride home. After she got into the back seat, she spoke on FaceTime with another friend and casually mentioned she had visited Israel a few weeks earlier. Moments later, Mattova said, the driver abruptly pulled over at a busy intersection and told her to get out.
When she asked why, the driver responded that she didn't feel “comfortable” continuing the ride and then added, according to Mattova, “they do not drive Jewish people.”
Mattova exited the car, ordered another ride and reported the incident to the friend who had booked the trip. Both women filed complaints. Four days later, on Dec. 4, Mattova received a call from an Uber representative, followed by an email apology stating the company was “following up with this driver to try to ensure an incident like this does not occur again” and that the fare would be refunded.
“A serious incident involving hate should trigger immediate action within 24 hours. Anything less allows prejudice to just go unchecked. Basically, it took them four days to get back to me,” Mattova told the National Post. “The incident I experienced was a direct act of antisemitism, and the reason I’m speaking about it is because moments like this must be confronted openly.”
In a statement to the newspaper, Uber said discrimination is “unacceptable” and that it regretted the rider’s experience. “Everyone deserves to feel safe, welcome, and respected when using Uber,” the company said, adding that it had contacted Mattova directly and “taken appropriate action” against the driver. Uber declined to specify what those actions were.
Mattova said the company also refused to say whether the driver was still active on the platform, citing driver privacy.
Mattova noted that her 90-year-old Slovak grandmother is a Holocaust survivor who was imprisoned in a concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic. “She used to tell me these horrible stories of what happened, even a year or two before the war actually started,” Mattova said. “These moments remind me of exactly what she was telling me, and this is why I’m speaking up. If we let these things slide, will the same thing repeat itself? That’s my biggest question: Where are we heading?”