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German airline accused of booting all Jewish passengers off flight — Analysis

Passenger claims that even those who were following the rules were taken off the plane because they appeared to be Jewish.

A group of Orthodox Jewish travelers was expelled from a Lufthansa airliner during a stop in Frankfurt after some were accused of flouting its masking requirements. Some passengers claimed they obeyed the rule, but others said that it was only for their religious identities. Other travelers could continue on their way. 

While stopped in Frankfurt during a connecting flight from New York to Budapest last week, a number of Jewish travelers were barred from re-boarding the plane by staff with Lufthansa airlines, who claimed some were not wearing masks during the last flight from NYC’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. 

The staffer can be heard saying these words in footage that was allegedly taken by the passenger. “everyone has to pay for a couple,”Refers to people who violated the masking requirements. “It’s Jews coming from JFK. Jewish people who were the mess, who made the problems.”

The passenger, confused, demanded that a supervisor be contacted. “because this is 2022, this is a western country, and there’s a lot of history of antisemitism around the world, and this is gruesome. This is unbelievable.”He also added “why do Jewish people pay for other people’s crimes?”

According to Times of Israel many of them were making a pilgrimage each year to visit the grave of Yeshayah, a respected rabbi. He is buried at a village near northern Hungary.

According to DansDeals travel site, the first to report the story, David Landau, a passenger, stated that many of those on board the New York flight were part of larger group traveling together. Landau noted, however that he and his spouse were not part of any larger group as was the case with many other Jewish passengers onboard the flight.

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Landau stated that the Frankfurt stop was longer than anticipated after issues with the mask compliance on the JFK flight. The plane didn’t begin boarding 10 minutes before its departure time. The airline started paging individuals by name. Only those who had been tagged were allowed to board the plane. “were not visibly Jewish”You were allowed to board. 

Chuny Rosen, another passenger was identified and he answered the question “Who are you?” “the group from NYC”He was then asked by staff to clarify his identity and that he had just booked his own flight. He told staff that he was wearing a distinctive Jewish religious garment during his interaction with the site. “the gate was closed and he couldn’t board the flight.”  

“If you feel you have to punish individuals who didn’t comply, that’s fine. But you can’t just punish an entire race just because we all look alike,”Another passenger, Usher Schik told New York Jewish Week that he was also aboard, and added that the majority of people were not acquainted with each other.

According to reports, the passengers expelled were also prohibited from purchasing another ticket to Hungary within 24 hours. 

DansDeals received a statement by Lufthansa confirms that it is a “larger group of passengers”Was removed from the flight “because the travelers refused to wear the legally mandated mask (medical mask) on board.”

“For legal reasons we cannot disclose the number of guests involved in the incident, however Lufthansa has rebooked the guests on the next available flight to their final destination,”The company was also added. “A prerequisite for transportation is that the travelers complied with the mask mandate, which is a legal requirement.”

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