A frum couple has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines after they were kicked off a flight for standing up for their Jewish beliefs and refusing to place a tallis bag on the floor.
Roberto and Elana Birman were returning to New York from Florida in August when the incident occurred.
According to the couple, they had placed the tallis bag in the overhead bin when a flight attendant took it out, handed it to them, and demanded they place it on the floor beneath their seats to clear up overhead bin space.
When Roberto explained that he couldn’t because it was a religious item, the flight attendant allegedly told them, “it doesn’t matter.”
The couple adds that the flight attendant yelled and pointed her finger at them during the exchange.
“I couldn’t believe this was happening to me in America,” Roberto, who immigrated to the US from Argentina in 1985, told the NY Post. “We use these items every single day to pray.”
“Nobody said a word. Nobody defended us. It was embarrassing,” Elana said.
The couple was subsequently escorted off the plane and forced to miss their flight. They are now suing American Airlines for unspecified damages.
“My clients were ejected from the flight based on the prejudices and complete lack of sensitivity of American Airlines employees for reasons wholly unrelated to security,” their lawyer, Brad Gerstman, said. “The flight attendant and pilot’s conduct was as offensive as it was illogical.”
American Airlines said it is reviewing the lawsuit.
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37 Responses
BOYCOTT AMERICAN AIRLINES.
American airlines is an anti Jewish airline.
I wonder what “damages” they can sue for. But I hope AA has to pay big time in some way, I don’t care how it is.
According to Halacha why can’t a Tallis inside 2 bags be placed on the floor? In reality a Tallis could be placed on the floor though we don’t do it. The reason Tephillin which do have the issue of Kedusha are placed in a velvet bag and a plastic bag is not for show. Its because when Tephillin are in 2 bags they’re in their own space. This allows you when travelling to carry them into the bathroom or put the bag on the floor. So I’m not sure why putting a Tallis enclosed in 2 bags under the seat was an issue.
I don’t think it is assur as the tefilin is in tik betoch tik, bag in a bag.
I hope these people get just compensation and then fly with a company that is more accommodating to our beliefs
Which is few and far between
Seemingly the general attitude of American Airlines personnel toward Jews has been in the news too much in recent weeks. The old adage “Where there’s smoke there’s fire” seems to relate to the company’s attitude toward Jews. Can one safely deduce that it comes from senior management?
Lawyers to the rescue !!!!
Um
Yawn
Kinda getting tired at the superjews claiming discrimination at the drop of a hat — or in this case a tallis
Chilul Hashem here
Next
What would we do if we didn’t have legal eagles defending our Jewish honor ?!?
It might have been a more deft ploy to put it in his lap until the plane took off. Then put it back in the overhead. That way he couldn’t be kicked off.
“Jewish beliefs”. Couple of things… 1. Tallis and Tefillin is typically protected by at least two bags (the inner bag, and the plastic zipper case bag). One can even put a shoprite bag around it to make it a third bag. Though it’s not preferred on a daily and regular basis, I’ve heard that it’s acceptable for the teffilin to be placed on the floor in such a circumstance. Is it any different if the teffilin is in a carryon bag (or checked luggage) which is placed on the floor? How about a box of seforim or box of talleisim which is typically in a storage unit placed on the floor? It’s a non-issue. 2. We are missing a large piece of the puzzle. Did the couple conduct themselves in a way that’s a kiddush Hashem or chillul Hashem? Starting a fight with flight attendants to insist that your tripled bagged teffilin can’t be placed on the floor compartment in front of you is by no iota a Kiddush Hashem. Were they respectful, calm, and communicative? 3. We are seeing this issue with masks a lot lately; if they waited for takeoff, most probably they could have relocated the bag. Wait until takeoff, then look around to shuffle an overhead bin.
American Airlines are notorious for their anti Semitic behavior
Fact question: Were the Birmans flying on a steeply discounted ticket that requires that any carry-on bags be placed under the seat in front of them and doesn’t allow for use of the overhead bins? I don’t think American has such a discounted “Basic Economy” fare so that was unlikely what was going on here but that is an issue on some of the discount airlines.
Was a competent posek (high-level rabbinic authority, halachic decisor) consulted about this case? Orthodox Jews should conduct themselves according to דעת תורה.
The man may well have been allowed to put the bag under his seat. The tefillin were already covered doubly (if not triply), according to a photo seen in the NY Post accompanying the story, and would not be resting directly on the ground.
דעת עם הארץ היפך דעת תורה
לא עם הארץ חסיד
While the intentions of the passenger may have been laudable, his actual stance may not have been warranted by halacha.
So, ספרים and כתבי קודש are routinely packaged and shipped. I’m sure that UPS is’nt מקפיד that religous items be kept off the floor. I’m assuming the issue was תפילין, which were in their cases, inside of their bag, which was in turn inside of a טלית bag.
Are we going to pretend there was an actually problem ע”פ הלכה?
Hashem is reminding us that we’re still in golus!
Is it really a problem to put it there? Or they didn’t have a plastic bag to put it in?
Why could he not place it on the floor? Or if they had another carry on bag place it within that bag? I travel with a tallit and tefilin and always have it in my carry-on bag. Has never been an issue.
Moving small bags that can fit on the floor under the seat in front of the passenger is standard procedure when space in the overhead bins is tight. Indeed many airlines specifically say that the second carry-on personal item must be placed on the floor. This was unreasonable and stupid on the part of AA. When there is any specific and reasonable request not to place the item on the floor it would have been nice for the crew to have helped the passenger by relocating the item so as to not cause offense. Not doing that is dumb but not necessarily bias. We really should stop calling every action that doesn’t suit us, bias or anti-semitic. Of course, this may have been flagrant bias or it may be that the passengers were offensive and had an entitlement attitude. Neither would be “first time” scenarios on routes out of Florida or to or from Israel. The lawsuit is certainly right that this lacked sensitivity but then the airlines’ contract with its passengers is to get them safely from A to B, not run a sensitivity clinic. That is part of customer relations to get the passengers back again. AA probably doesn’t need too many entitled passengers in its Economy cabin. If these people had been flying in First, either the issue would not have occurred, or they would have said how terrible it was that even though they were flying First they were treated like this!
Hi the article tells a different story than the headline,
There is no mention of the flight attendant allowing non-jews to keep their talleisim (or other small bags) in the overhead bin.
someone accidently truncated the article
I don’t see any bias here. The standard rule is you get a carry on in the overhead bin and a personal item under the seat. This is only enforced when the overhead bins are full. The simplest solution would have been to put the TALIS bag in the carry on in the overhead and take something out of the carry on that can go under the seat. Pushing the matter simply creates more anti-semites where we already have enough of them.
Why wasn’t the bag inside a carry on?
Maybe al pi halacha they were allowed to put it on the floor I don’t know the Halacha, it’s totally irrelevant to the story. The fact that he said it’s a religious item and he can’t put it on the floor, they have enough space where they could have stored it and being kicked off for that is unacceptable it definitely calls for a law suit.
Not defending the flight attendant, but on case someone is in the same situation: don’t wait for the request to double bag the talles, just put it into your suitcase. If you plan to daven on the plane, put it so that you can get it out without taking suitcase from the bin. As it is, the guy created a separate item. There is no religious exemption for that.
Emergency solution: put tales on yourself, it is a beged. Same can be done with tefilin. Just behave appropriately when wearing it. Don’t argue with flight attendant, talk quietly and humbly.
Were they wearing their disposable masks properly for the entire flight?
Hmmm. Anyone think this could get me enough for a down payment on a nice home?
Hypothetically, would AA compel a Muslim to place his Koran on the floor?! Would AA compel a Fundamentalist Christian to place her Bible and religious artifacts on the floor?!
Maybe technically a doubled covered chefetz shell kedusha can be placed on floor, but WHERE IS THE GE’ON YA’AKOV (Jewish Pride), not to disrespect objects of Jewish holiness???
I am sickened by the comments from YIDDEN that justify placing divrei kedusha in a place of bizoyon, when there very same Yidden would fully understand a Goy refusing to disrespect his religious artifacts.
Shame on you!
Even forcing a Yid to place a picture of a godol on the floor, which is technically muttar, is disgraceful!
It must be judged against the conduct of AA that would NRVER force a Muslim to place Muhamed’s picture on the floor, or a Christian to place a picture of Yosheh on the floor. They never would dare do so.
And that, you judgemental critical commentators, is discrimination against your fellow Yidden.
Hypothetically, would AA compel a Muslim to place his Koran on the floor?! Would AA compel a Fundamentalist Christian to place her Bible and religious artifacts on the floor?!
Maybe technically a doubled covered chefetz shell kedusha can be placed on floor, but WHERE IS THE GE’ON YA’AKOV (Jewish Pride), not to disrespect objects of Jewish holiness???
I am sickened by the comments from YIDDEN that justify placing divrei kedusha in a place of bizoyon, when these very same Yidden would fully understand a Goy refusing to disrespect his religious artifacts.
Shame on you! Would these same Yidden say that it is technically muttar (in Hilchos Koran or Hanhogas Bible) to place a Koran or Bible on the floor if it is double wrapped?! Would these same Yidden give eitzos that the Goy can empty out his carry on suitcase in the overhead bin (assuming he has one – as they assume about the Yid) and leave his artifacts there?!
Even forcing a Yid to place a picture of a godol on the floor, which is technically muttar, is disgraceful!
It must be judged against the conduct of AA that would NRVER force a Muslim to place Muhamed’s picture on the floor, or a Christian to place a picture of Yosheh on the floor. They never would dare do so.
And that, you judgemental critical commentators, is discrimination against your fellow Yidden.
Rebbitzen, you have years of experience putting on tallis and teffilin to know the halachos. Funny
I find it very INTERESTING 🧐 to see who are the people who are COLD towards a Dovar Sh’Kedusha and who are the people Shocked by the insensitivity of the Airline.
You can bet they wouldn’t dare tell a Muslim to do that.
But the real disturbing 😳 part of the story are the many comments by yiddilech who have become so desensitized to Yiddishkeit
Oy Oy Oy
TGIShabbis, if I would know the halochos, I would have suggested that he wear the talis and tefilin, as one does when tefillin are found on shabbos in the street…but davka because I don’t know the halachos, instead of looking for lomdus (how technically one can put tefillin on floor if double wrapped), I turn to the GE’ON YA’AKOV, the Jewish Pride, to stand up for kovod shomayim (as represented by tefillin – ki Shem Hashem Nikra Alecha), and condemn the bias and discrimination that would never be tolerated against any other religion. Shame on those being melamed zchus on AA.
For all you people who are very concerned about whether or not it could go on the floor, that’s obviously not the point of the story. AA should not have been requesting this in the first place. If it’s up in the overhead, it doesn’t bother anyone. Obviously if it is true, the flight attendant had a serious problem.
Could the passenger have done 14 other things in order to make it work, yes, but again that is not the point!
Rebetzin, I understand the pride (that Aristotle valued, but Rambam disagreed), but derech eretz comes first.
Presumably (we are guessing here, we do not have full picture), someone is putting a tefilin bag in a space that can hold a whole suit case. Why is this? Why not put the tefilin bag into the suitcase l’hathila?
I fully agree with the Rebbetzin. Others are truly missing the point here. The conduct of the passengers is to be commended, and so is their legal follow-up.
Where’s the outcry?
An American Airlines flight attendant takes a 75-year-old man’s Tallis & Teffilin out of the overhead bin and demands that he place it on the floor. When he refuses, he and his wife get kicked off the flight. And American Airlines is silent!!
Can any flight attendant with anti-Semitic feelings abuse a Jew in America in 2021 and get away with it?
If so…YOU ARE NEXT!
We should make our voices heard loudly…
1. Every Jew with a conscience should call America Airlines 800-433-7300 and ask for a supervisor and:
a. Demand that they apologize publicly
b. Demand they fire this flight attendant
c. Let them know that you will never fly AA until they do the right thing here.
2. If you have a social media presence, make you voice heard on all platforms.
3. Email [email protected] with your feelings
Always_Ask_Questions, you criticize taking a stand for Ge’on Ya’akov – Jewish Pride. You call “pride” (not Jewish Pride, but stam pride) and therefore comment that “Aristotle valued, but Rambam disagreed”.
By making a wrong turn, you ended up lost. Sadly, you shlep the Rambam with you. Why is he at fault for your error?!
The term Ge’on Ya’kov is a possuk. It is a goal that Yidden strive for. Surely the Rambam does not disagree with a posuk in Yeshaya 4:2 :
“בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה צֶמַח ה’ לִצְבִי וּלְכָבוֹד וּפְרִי הָאָרֶץ לְגָאוֹן וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת לִפְלֵיטַת יִשְׂרָאֵל”, indeed, lacking Ge’on Ya’akov is part of Hashem’s punishment: “וְשָׁבַרְתִּי אֶת גְּאוֹן עֻזְּכֶם וְנָתַתִּי אֶת שְׁמֵיכֶם כַּבַּרְזֶל וְאֶת אַרְצְכֶם כַּנְּחֻשָׁה” Vayikra 26:19.
If you are a Bais Yaakov graduate, you should know these p’sukim. If you are a yeshiva graduate, you might not know mikrah, but surely you heard of the sefer Ge’on Yaakov (maybe you even heard of Yeshivas Ge’on Yaakov). The name of the sefer or yeshiva is not “pride” but “Jewish Pride” – an important attribute to strive for.
Always_Ask_Questions, you criticize taking a stand for Ge’on Ya’akov – Jewish Pride. You call Ge’on Ya’akov “pride” (not Jewish Pride, but stam pride) and therefore comment that “Aristotle valued, but Rambam disagreed”.
By making a wrong turn, you ended up lost. Sadly, you shlep the Rambam with you. Why is he at fault for your error?!
The term Ge’on Ya’kov is a possuk. It is a goal that Yidden strive for. Surely the Rambam does not disagree with a posuk in Yeshaya 4:2 :
“בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה צֶמַח ה’ לִצְבִי וּלְכָבוֹד וּפְרִי הָאָרֶץ לְגָאוֹן וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת לִפְלֵיטַת יִשְׂרָאֵל”, indeed, lacking Ge’on Ya’akov is part of Hashem’s punishment: “וְשָׁבַרְתִּי אֶת גְּאוֹן עֻזְּכֶם וְנָתַתִּי אֶת שְׁמֵיכֶם כַּבַּרְזֶל וְאֶת אַרְצְכֶם כַּנְּחֻשָׁה” Vayikra 26:19.
If you are a Bais Yaakov graduate, you should already know these p’sukim. If you are a yeshiva graduate, you might not know mikrah that well, but surely you heard of the sefer Ge’on Yaakov. Maybe you even heard of Yeshivas Ge’on Yaakov. The name of the sefer or yeshiva is not “pride” but “Jewish Pride” – an important attribute for every Yid to strive for.