A rabbi and his wife are suing JetBlue for claiming “anti-Semitic” staff kicked them off a flight from Palm Springs to New York following a request to change seats for religious reasons.
Abraham Lunger and his wife, Miriam Lunger, were removed from the plane after the rabbi informed the flight crew that, as an Orthodox Jew, “he cannot sit next to a woman unless she is a blood relative or his wife,” according to the demands. state.
Mr. Lunger had been assigned a seat next to a female passenger and was asked to sit next to his wife or another man.
But instead of allowing the change, a confrontation ensued between the Lungers and the flight crew, who are accused of rejecting the request outright and then removing the couple from the plane.
During the incident, a passenger offered to sit next to Mr Lunger to resolve the issue, but the plane’s captain said it would create a “weight imbalance”, it is claimed.
A rabbi and his wife are suing JetBlue for claiming they were kicked off a flight by “anti-Semitic” staff following a request to change seats for religious reasons. stock photo
Abraham Lunger and his wife, Miriam Lunger, were removed from the plane after the rabbi informed the flight crew that, as an Orthodox Jew, “you cannot sit next to a woman unless she is a blood relative or your wife.” The staff refused to honor the request and instead removed them from the plane, a lawsuit claims. stock photo
The Lungers are named plaintiffs in the case along with Brucha Ungar, another Orthodox Jew who was traveling with them and who was also removed from the flight after the incident.
JetBlue is named as a defendant along with a flight attendant, who is referred to as Jane Doe because her identity remains unknown.
The airline, accused of “malicious (and) deliberate” religious and racial discrimination, told DailyMail.com it is “proud to serve millions of customers each year from different backgrounds.”
‘We do everything we can to accommodate our customers’ diverse requests while ensuring that all customers receive the experience they expect from JetBlue. Due to pending litigation, we will have no further comment,” a statement from JetBlue said.
The Lungers and Ms. Ungar were scheduled to travel on JetBlue Flight 2050 from Palm Springs International Airport to JFK on Dec. 31, 2023, according to the complaint, which was filed in New York on Feb. 27.
The lawsuit describes them as Orthodox Jews who observe the traditions of the faith, including through their dress and appearance.
Mr. Lunger, whom his lawyer describes as a “respected rabbi,” and Ms. Lunger, who works with girls with special needs and serves lunch at a school, had tickets in a reservation. Mrs Ungar, a childminder, had a ticket in a separate booking.
“Due to his religious beliefs, Mr. Lunger cannot sit next to a woman unless she is a blood relative or his wife,” the complaint states.
‘Mr Lunger had no blood relatives on the flight, so the only woman his religious beliefs allowed to sit next to him was his wife.
“Upon arriving at the gate before boarding the flight, Ms. Lunger asked the JetBlue ticket agent if Mr. Lunger could sit next to her, or at least not next to another woman, due to his religious modesty beliefs.” .
The agent said they could “attempt to change their seats on the plane and make arrangements with other passengers” if the seating arrangement did not meet those needs, according to the lawsuit.
The couple were seated separately, with Mr Lunger in 18A and his wife in 21B.
“Mr. Lunger waited patiently in his seat to see if the seat next to him would be occupied by a man or a woman,” according to the complaint.
“When a woman went to sit in seat 18B, Mr. Lunger quietly got up from his seat and stood in the aisle to adhere to his religious beliefs and not sit next to a female passenger.”
The complaint alleges that “before Mr. Lunger could ask someone to change seats with him,” the flight attendant identified as Jane Doe “yelled at Mr. Lunger to go back to his seat.”
He informed her of his religious beliefs, but the attendant “refused to accept that explanation and attempted to prevent Mr. Lunger from changing seats with another passenger who had agreed to change seats.”
“At no time while Mr. Lunger was attempting to observe his religious beliefs did he force, make noise, or use a stern voice to intimidate other passengers into changing seats with him,” according to the complaint, which says passengers “often “change seats on the plane.
The pilot was called to the incident and then “falsely told plaintiffs that they could not change seats because it was a violation and would cause a weight imbalance.”
“The seat change that Mr. Lunger attempted to make was on the same side of the plane, just a few rows in front of his original seat,” the lawsuit adds. He further states that “the man who offered to change seats was physically very similar in weight to Mr. Lunger.”
‘The pilot went out to talk to Mr. Lunger, who had changed seats, and to Ms. Lunger and Ms. Ungar, who had only been trying to explain Mr. Lunger’s need to change seats to defendant Doe.
‘The pilot told the three plaintiffs: “I’m sorry, you have to get off the plane. The crew members don’t feel safe flying with you. The flight will not leave with you on the plane.”
‘The only people removed from the flight were the plaintiffs, each of them dressed in clothing that easily identified them as Orthodox Jews.
‘Although other passengers, who were not dressed in Orthodox Jewish attire, had changed seats on the plane, either with Mr. Lunger or someone else, only the plaintiffs were removed from the plane.
‘Although Ms. Lunger and Ms. Ungar had not been falsely accused of causing a weight imbalance by changing seats, as Mr. Lunger had been, JetBlue and the pilot kicked them off the plane.
“Another passenger, who was not wearing Orthodox Jewish dress, also objected to Mr. Lunger being denied the opportunity to observe his religion, but was not removed from the flight like Ms. Lunger and Ms. Ungar.”
Another passenger recorded audio of the confrontation in which the captain of the flight is heard saying: ‘(If you don’t) get off the plane, we will disembark the rest of the plane and leave you three here.’
He later adds: “Right now the flight (crew) is not comfortable with you on the plane, which means I have to take you off the plane.”
The passengers protest and at one point one of the women is heard saying: ‘We didn’t do anything, we asked for a favor for religious purposes and please everyone respect our religion.’ We did? Did we shoot, did we do something, did we touch someone? Nothing.’
The person recording the incident insists that “people seem fine (and) happy to help” by changing seats to accommodate themselves, but the crew continues to remove passengers.
The lawsuit adds: ‘Mortified and embarrassed, plaintiffs left the plane.
‘The plaintiffs asked to get their suitcases back but were told they couldn’t. Once disembarked, the plaintiffs spoke with the JetBlue ticket agent at the gate, who informed them that JetBlue would not provide them with lodging, food, or transportation for the night.
“Plaintiffs had to call JetBlue to get tickets for a return flight the next day, charging them both the price change and the ticket fee for the same-day change, and JetBlue claimed that the plaintiffs never boarded their flight but instead “They lost it.”
The case alleges civil rights violations, discrimination and harassment.
Evan Brustein, a lawyer at New York-based Brustein Law PLLC representing the three plaintiffs, told DailyMail.com: ‘Everyone deserves to travel safely and without fear of prejudice.
‘Our clients boarded a plane expecting nothing more than to be brought home safely to their families. Instead, they were greeted with discrimination that marked their experience because of their identity as Jews.
“Our clients seek justice in the courts and reaffirmation that every individual, regardless of religious beliefs, has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.”