A Canadian-Slovakian Jewish model, Miriam Mattova, says she was ordered out of an Uber in Toronto after the driver declared she would not transport Jewish passengers. Mattova has since filed a complaint and is preparing legal action, arguing that the incident is a clear example of antisemitic discrimination and part of a wider pattern that the company has failed to address, reports The Jerusalem Post.
Mattova said the incident occurred on 30 November, when she entered an Uber ordered by a friend on Dundas Street. During the ride, she was speaking on FaceTime and mentioned her recent visit to Israel. According to her account, the driver — identified as a Muslim woman — abruptly stopped the car in the middle of an intersection and told her to get out. When Mattova asked why, the driver replied that she did not “drive Jewish people.” She said she stepped out of the vehicle, not in fear but because “when someone reveals open discrimination, there is no reason to remain in that space.”
After returning home in a second Uber, Mattova submitted a detailed complaint through the app. Her friend, who had booked the original ride, did the same. Both received responses only after the story appeared in the national press. Uber contacted her offering a refund, but Mattova said she stressed that “this situation is about more than the cost of a ride” and asked whether the driver would be dismissed. Uber reportedly told her they could not provide that information, later adding only that they would speak with the driver.
Her lawyer, Howard Levitt, criticised Uber’s handling of the case. He said that when the company phoned Mattova, “they wanted to ask whether she had an injury from it, as an insurance company does. That is all they were interested in, not about the racism of the driver.” Levitt has sent a formal letter demanding that Uber explicitly prohibit discrimination in all driver contracts on human-rights grounds. If the company does not respond, he plans to file an application with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.
Mattova said that after she shared her experience on Instagram, many people contacted her to say they had faced similar antisemitic incidents when using Uber but had received no response from the company. She believes the problem is broader than her own case and that the company has not shown sufficient accountability. “When a company as large as Uber fails to respond, it sends a completely wrong message,” she said, adding that serious incidents involving hate “should trigger immediate action within 24 hours.”
She stressed that she is not seeking financial compensation and would prefer any offered money to be donated to the Israeli charity Israel Friends. What she wants, she said, is the dismissal of the driver and a formal apology to her and to the Jewish community.
Reflecting on her grandmother’s experience as a Holocaust survivor, Mattova said her family history shapes her determination to confront antisemitism. “My grandmother survived the concentration camp, which reminds me of the necessity to remember these events,” she said. “We must remain vigilant against antisemitism and all forms of hatred.”
This was not the first antisemitic incident she has experienced in Canada, and she admitted that she now questions whether she has a long-term future in the country. Her lawyer warned that many Canadian Jews feel unsafe, with some considering emigration to the United States or Israel. He argued that fear only encourages those who spread hatred and that Jewish organisations must pursue stronger, more concrete action rather than relying solely on public statements.
Photo credit: Miriam Mattova
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