Kicked out of plane for being Jew? US couple files $40mn lawsuit against JetBlue Airways

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

The couple, identified asMichael 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 toNektalov, 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 andalso spoke in Hebrew at times.

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The couple said they knew trouble would ensue after JetBlue employeesgave 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.

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 January26 filing.

As the controversy snowballed, aJetBlue 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 spokespersonDerek Dombrowski.

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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.

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)