New York jews disrupt German airport, hurl the N-word (Nazi) at German police

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtiWafk6dpI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q3op7c103M



German airline accused of booting all Jewish passengers off flight
Even those obeying the rules were removed from the plane for merely appearing to be Jewish, passengers claimed
https://www.rt.com/news/555221-lufthansa-airline-jewish-passengers/

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 insist they complied with the rule and were removed solely for their religious identity, while non-Jewish travelers were allowed to go 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.

In footage purportedly filmed by a passenger during a heated exchange with an airline employee on Wednesday, the staffer is heard saying "everyone has to pay for a couple," referring to those who ran afoul of the masking requirement, and that "It's Jews coming from JFK. Jewish people who were the mess, who made the problems."

Responding, the bewildered passenger demanded to speak to a supervisor, "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 added "why do Jewish people pay for other people's crimes?"

Many of the travelers were on a yearly pilgrimage to view the grave of a revered rabbi, Yeshayah Steiner, who is buried in a village in northern Hungary, according to the Times of Israel.

Speaking to travel website DansDeals, which first reported the story, passenger David Landau said that a number of the passengers on the flight from New York belonged to larger groups traveling together. Landau, however, noted that he and his wife were not part of any group, as was the case for several other Jewish travelers on the plane.

After issues on the previous flight from JFK over mask compliance, Landau said the stop in Frankfurt lasted longer than expected, as the plane did not begin boarding until 10 minutes after its scheduled departure time. He added that the airline then began paging individual passengers by name, and that only those who "were not visibly Jewish" were allowed to board.

Another passenger identified as Chuny Rosen said he was asked whether he belonged to "the group from NYC" after being paged by staff, and answered that he was alone and had booked his own ticket. However, he told the travel site he was wearing distinctive Jewish religious garb during the interaction, and that by the time he was able to remove the garment and return with his bags, "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," yet another passenger, Usher Schik, told New York Jewish Week, adding that most people on board did not know each other.

The expelled passengers were also allegedly barred from booking another ticket to Hungary for a full 24 hours.

In a statement obtained by DansDeals, Lufthansa confirmed that 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 added. "A prerequisite for transportation is that the travelers complied with the mask mandate, which is a legal requirement."

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grovel GROVEL GROVEL

4 months after barring Jewish passengers, Lufthansa (again) announces new steps to combat antisemitism
https://www.jta.org/2022/09/19/global/4-months-after-barring-jewish-passengers-lufthansa-again-announces-new-steps-to-combat-antisemitism

Germany's flagship airline has joined with a major American Jewish advocacy organization to combat global antisemitism, four months after igniting a scandal when its agents barred dozens of Jews from boarding a plane in Frankfurt.

Under the terms of the partnership announced last week, American Jewish Committee staffers will train employees of the Lufthansa Group to identify and respond to antisemitism. The airline is also joining dozens of countries, states and companies that have adopted a specific definition of antisemitism to guide their own activities.

The partnership is the latest commitment by Lufthansa following the negative headlines it earned in May after 100 Orthodox Jewish passengers flying from New York to Budapest were barred from boarding a connecting flight. Airline staffers said the decision had been made because because some of them had not worn masks and had gathered in the aisles, going against flight regulations.

But antisemitism watchdogs including the AJC, which has an office in Berlin, strongly criticized the airline for permitting the collective punishment of Jewish passengers at the time, many of whom did not appear to have engaged in the objectionable behavior.

Shortly afterward, Lufthansa CEO Jens Ritter informed the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that Lufthansa had established an internal task force to investigate the case. The firm, which earlier had apologized to the passengers involved, blamed miscommunication for the "categorically inappropriate" decision to bar them all — and not just those who were non-compliant — from boarding.

In July, Ritter said the company would appoint a senior management position "for the prevention of discrimination and antisemitism." Lufthansa has since endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, known as IHRA, which also has been adopted by the U.S. Department of State, the German Bundestag and multiple other governments as their official referee for what constitutes antisemitism. (The definition has drawn criticism for its characterization of some forms of Israel criticism as antisemitic.)

Holly Huffnagle, AJC's U.S. director of combatting antisemitism, said in a joint statement that she was grateful for Lufthansa's commitment to fighting workplace bias of all kinds. "As global antisemitism rises, the private sector increasingly has a role to play," she said.

This week's announcement followed meetings in Washington, D.C., between a top Lufthansa board member, Christina Foerster, and a host of heavyweights, including Deborah Lipstadt, U.S special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism; Felix Klein, Germany's commissioner for Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism; Emily Haber, German ambassador to the United States; and Michael Herzog, Israel's ambassador to the United States.

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Jewish passengers booted off Lufthansa flight in May are getting $20,000 payouts
https://www.jta.org/2022/11/29/global/jewish-passengers-booted-off-lufthansa-flight-in-may-are-getting-20000-payouts

Nearly seven months after they were denied boarding in Frankfurt, a group of more than 100 Hasidic Lufthansa passengers are getting paid for their troubles.

The airline is paying each passenger $20,000 plus giving them $1,000 to reimburse them for expenses incurred during the May incident, according to Dan's Deals, the discount travel website that first reported the incident at the time. After legal fees and some other expenses, each passenger will net approximately $17,400, the site is reporting.

Lufthansa would not confirm the dollar figures but told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that it is seeking to settle with each of the affected passengers, capping a series of conciliatory responses to the incident.

"Although we are not commenting on the details, we can confirm that Lufthansa endeavors to settle the claims with all of the passengers denied boarding on May 4th, 2022," the company said in a statement.

That date was when airline agents in Frankfurt barred many Jewish travelers coming from New York City from boarding their connecting flight to Budapest, citing the fact that some of the passengers were not wearing masks, as was required at the time. But that rule was applied inconsistently, passengers said at the time, and a Lufthansa supervisor was caught on video speaking disparagingly about Jewish passengers as a group.

"It's Jews coming from JFK. Jewish people who were the mess, who made the problems," the supervisor said on the video, which Dan's Deals shared shortly after the incident.

Amid intense media coverage, Lufthansa publicly apologized, saying in a statement that the company "regrets the circumstances surrounding the decision to exclude the affected passengers from the flight."

The company added, "What transpired is not consistent with Lufthansa's policies or values. We have zero tolerance for racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination of any type."

In late July, Lufthansa announced the creation of a senior management role to combat discrimination and antisemitism, even as an independent investigation commissioned by the airline concluded that there was no evidence of institutional antisemitism that led to the incident.

And in September, the American Jewish Committee announced a new program to train Lufthansa employees how to identify and respond to antisemitism.

Many of the Jewish passengers bound for Budapest were headed there for an annual pilgrimage to visit the grave of Rabbi Yeshayah Steiner, a miracle-working rabbi who died in 1925.