NY rabbi, wife booted off JetBlue flight by ‘antisemitic’ staff after heated exchange over switching seats: suit

A New York rabbi and his wife were removed from a JetBlue flight after a dispute over seat arrangements due to their Orthodox Jewish beliefs, which prohibit the rabbi from sitting next to a woman who is not his wife or blood relative.

Abraham Lunger and his wife, Miriam Lunger, were asked to leave the flight on New Year’s Eve after the rabbi explained his religious restrictions to the flight crew, according to court documents filed in February.

Despite a male passenger offering to switch seats with the rabbi, a confrontation ensued between the Lungers and the flight crew, leading to their removal from the plane.

The pilot cited a “weight imbalance” as the reason for not allowing the seat switch, leading to the Lungers and their companion being asked to leave the aircraft, as per the lawsuit.

JetBlue has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, stating that passengers must occupy their assigned seats and that the Lungers breached this policy.

The Lungers’ attorney, Evan Brustein, refuted JetBlue’s dismissal attempt, alleging that the removal was motivated by antisemitism and discrimination rather than seat assignments.

Civil rights attorney Ron Kuby, not involved in the case, stated that the incident was not antisemitism but a matter of seat assignments and airline policies.

Alan Dershowitz, a renowned constitutional law attorney, commented that while there may not be a legal obligation to accommodate religious needs, passengers should not be removed if a solution was offered and rejected under false pretenses.

JetBlue representatives did not respond to inquiries regarding the incident.