New York

A couple from the New York borough of Queens has brought a $40 million lawsuit against JetBlue Airways, claiming they were unfairly removed from a flight because they are Orthodox Jews, according to a report in the New York Post

Advertisment

The couple, identified as Michael Nektalov and Miryem Yushanaye, alongside their five kids were returning from an Aruba vacation in February 2021 when they were allegedly kicked off the plane. According to Nektalov, another Jewish family was also pushed out of the New York-bound flight. 

The court papers reveal that the couple was dressed according to Jewish religious customs. While Miryem wore a head covering, her husband sported a long beard and yarmulke and also spoke in Hebrew at times. 

The couple said they knew trouble would ensue after JetBlue employees gave them "disdainful and dirty looks" soon after boarding the flight. Their hunch came true as just before the takeoff, the plane taxied back to the gate. 

Advertisment

When Miryem asked one of the flight attendants what was causing the delay, she was told that her "mask had slipped off the nose". Afterwards, she was removed from the plane, while a different Jewish family were also asked to leave.

When Nektalov protested the decision, a JetBlue employee allegedly shouted that if the famulu did not "get off the plane, the entire plane would have to be deplaned". 

“In that moment, I felt as though we were in Nazi Germany, and that we were being isolated, vilified, and herded for disposal,” Nektalov said in the January 26 filing.

Advertisment

As the controversy snowballed, a JetBlue spokesman said the company had not yet reviewed the lawsuit.

“We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind at JetBlue. We take any claims such as these seriously and will work to fully understand the facts of what happened in this event,” said spokesperson Derek Dombrowski.

Watch | Israel-Hamas war: British team helping Palestinian authority prepare for governance

Rising antisemitism in the US

The incident comes to light amid rising cases of antisemtism across the US in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war. 

US President Joe Biden on Holocaust Remembrance Day last month reflected on the same and said it was "unacceptable" that Jews were being treated in such a way. 

"In the aftermath of Hamas’s vicious massacre, we have witnessed an alarming rise of despicable antisemitism at home and abroad that has surfaced painful scars from millennia of hate and genocide of Jewish people. It is unacceptable," said Biden. 

Also read | UK: Labour MP Kate Osamor suspended over Gaza remarks in Holocaust Memorial Day message

After Hamas' October 7 terror attack, Israel has launched a counter operation in the Gaza Strip with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to not stop before the terror outfit is completely dismantled. 

(With inputs from agencies)