Three Orthodox Jews – Rabbi Abraham Lunger, his wife Mrs. Miriam Lunger, and Ms. Brucha Ungar – have filed a lawsuit against JetBlue Airways alleging they were unjustly removed from a flight due to their religious beliefs and claim it was “anti-Semitism”.
The incident unfolded on December 31, 2023, aboard JetBlue Flight 2050, scheduled from Palm Springs International Airport to JFK in New York. According to the lawsuit, the conflict began when Rabbi Lunger requested a seat change to avoid being seated next to a female passenger.
The lawsuit says that this simple request was met with resistance from the flight crew, leading to a heated exchange that eventually saw the Lungers and Ms. Ungar being ordered off the aircraft.
The lawsuit asserts that despite a male passenger’s offer to switch seats with Rabbi Lunger, which would have resolved the issue, the flight’s captain claimed it would cause a “weight imbalance” and denied the switch. This justification, along with the subsequent decision to remove the plaintiffs from the flight, has been labeled by the plaintiffs as a pretext for discriminatory treatment based on their religious and racial identity.
The complaint highlights the plaintiffs’ adherence to Orthodox Jewish traditions, including their distinctive clothing and appearance, which they argue made them targets for discrimination.
The Lungers and Ms. Ungar were left stranded without accommodation, food, or transportation following their removal from the flight, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit further accuses JetBlue and its staff of civil rights violations, discrimination, and harassment, calling into question the airline’s policies and practices regarding religious accommodations.
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24 Responses
I ✈️ exceedingly often & ב”ה have never flown jet blue, and NEVER plan to.
I hope they make a lot of money. This is unfortunately the only way to “fight” antisemitism in America today, via the pocketbooks of the antisemites.
It’s not antisemitism. Please do me favor
Boohoo. U ask if it gets denied you can ask a fellow passenger. I have done it many times. And if it did not work out I sat כמי שכפאו שד.
What I did not do is make a scene. “Heated exchanges” never work and only cause חילול ה’.
And puhlezze “stranded without food or accomodations” ??? It’s FL. In the winter….
As much as i firmly believe the airline personnel overreacted, this is headed down a very slippery slope.
I’m not saying that JetBlue handled this properly. Nor am I saying that they didn’t act with prejudice against Jews – it’s very possible that they did.
But for the love of god stop trying to switch seats with people on an airplane. Outside of frum Jews this is unheard of. Do your best to avoid physical contact and move on with your life.
Flight attendants have seating charts and know where their passengers are and they have all sorts of different things happening on their side. They want simple. We should help them and keep things simple.
If you really are that strict or unnerved about such a scenario, buy a second seat.
Igros Moshe, chelek Even HaEzer volume 2, siman 14:
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled that a man may
enter a very crowded New York City subway car,
even though it is very likely that he will involuntarily touch a woman.
Igros Moshe, chelek Orach Chaim, volume 1, siman 41:
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled that mixed seating at weddings is permitted.
How do the worst Antisemites get away with the worst Antisemitism? Because when everything is Antisemitism than nothing is Antisemitism.
It’s truly amazing (& shows who many of us are) that we wouldn’t even consider flying on Shabbos because it’s cheaper or more convenient but when it comes to a Chumrah at best we expect the world to cater to us. From JetBlue (why wasn’t this done to avoid any problems?).
“YOU MAY SELECT SEATS for Blue Basic booked on or after September 24, 2023 at any time for a fee. If you don’t, your seats will be assigned before departure.”
I strongly agree with the first 2 commenters. if anyone doubted it was antisemitism it was given away when he tried to excuse his hate with the weight imbalance ridiculous comment
I have a question for him, how do they assign seats on a flight without first knowing each passengers weight
Three questions:
1 – Is a man or woman obligated al pi halacha to request a seat change to avoid sitting next to a different gender or was this a chumra?
2 – Also, if it is an obligation, and the request cannot be met, is the person reqired to leave the plane, or is the person simply “anus”?
3 – If there is no obligation to request a seat change, should one be concerned that doing so might possibly lead to a chilul Hashem?
“this simple request was met with resistance from the flight crew, leading to a heated exchange”
If you want to have the final say over the seating arrangements, charter your own plane. If you want a cheap JetBlue ticket, without booking the seat next to your wife when you buy it, then accept their rules on their flight.
Please don’t make a chillul hashem, just because you have peyos doesn’t mean you own the world.
If you can’t pick your seats during the booking process choose a different airline. Stop trying to save a buck. I don’t expect kosher food to be cheap. I don’t expect yiddishkeit to be cheap. ובכל מאדך is money. It’s part of עול מלכות שמים.
Why do we expect special treatment. Asking nicely doesn’t mean you’ll get the response that you want.
must hear both sides.I’ve flown jetblue countless times with no problems.
Rashi quotes a Halacha Berurah from R’Shimon Ben Lakish …
If you don’t want to sit next to a person of a different gender, travel together with friends and reserve the whole row, or travel on a plane that allows you to have a one row seat (possible on some planes). You can also travel on a private plane. You can purchase two tickets. If you only reserve one seat on a plane, you sit next to the people who get the adjacent seat.
Airlines that assigned seats based on religion, ethnicity, race, gender, etc. would probably be violating the civil rights laws. This was not a matter of anti-semitism.
What kind of plane was used for this flight? I find it hard to believe the move was problematic because of weight distribution.
I’m waiting to hear the other perspective of the story…
You cannot fight antisemitism. I hope he makes money but that won’t change anything. Anyway it seams like it was the heated argument that got them kicked off, not the simple request. Does the halacha dictate to make a whole ruckus? If not and you have an issue, be happy you’re off the plane.
Boycotts would not involve enough money to make a dent. But lawsuits will. I say, keep flying JetBlue, and sue them whenever they deserve it. Megabucks. A few of them should affect their bottom line.
Ppl we are in galus. The only way to “fight ” antisemitism is by acting like y8dden and showing those around us why we are the chosen nation. I met someone recently and said hi, he tells me, he just got off a flight and it made him rethink his life. He was sitting near a Jewish family, and the way they spoke to each other, their parents and to him, and the positive outlook they had on life, made him wish he had a family like that.
This was totally unnecessary. This man is a chossid shoteh. Many rabbonim and even gedolim have no problem sitting next to a woman. And this case specifically ended up causing a tremendous chilul Hashem. Think about that next time you wish to invoke a totally baseless chumra.
Many of our gedolim also travel on airplanes, and while I’m not sure how they avoid sitting next to strange women, I’m pretty sure it doesn’t involve heated arguments with the flight crew.
From past experience flying I can’t see any airline crew being overtly antisemitic. What I’ve experienced is that the crew generally tries to give good service as they are being judged by passengers and a lot of their career is hinged on that. I’m not saying there for sure is no such thing as anti-Semitism from the flight crew, what I’m saying is I’ve never seen it displayed towards me or other Jews on any flight I’ve travelled on.
My question is if these Jews don’t know how to keep a low profile that is necessary to not get anyone’s temper flaring. Let’s say they wanted to change seats, why do you involve the flight crew? Ask the passenger you want to change seats with, and that also needs judgment when you can ask sometimes boarding time is not a good time to do that only later when the seatbelt signs are off. If the passenger you are asking to change seats with agrees then you’re good, if not then too bad.
I’m reading between the lines that there was more involved with numerous passengers seat changes, or the request was at the wrong timing, otherwise I can’t imagine that asking to change seats with a passenger would get the flight crew involved and then kicked off the plane.
As someone who only flys jet blue for domestic flights (since they have the largest seats and are a cheap airline) for about $50 you could choose your seats, so in my opinion if you fly with your family pay the extra fee and choose your seat and don’t rely that someone will change the seat with you.