An elderly Jewish couple is suing American Airlines after they said they were berated publicly and kicked off a flight in August because the husband refused to store his bag containing his Tallis (prayer shawl) and Tefillin (phylacteries) on the floor of the aircraft. “I couldn’t believe this was happening to me in America,” said Roberto Birman. “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,” the Birmans’ lawyer told the Post.
Mr. Birman placed his Tallis bag in the overhead bin. A flight attendant removed it, and insisted he place it on the floor, under the seat in front of them. When he refused, saying it’s disrespectful to the holy articles for them to be put on the floor, the Birmans were removed from the flight.
The couple, who are married 52 years and have four kids, came to the U.S. in 1985 from Argentina, where they encountered frequent anti-Semitism.
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“I couldn’t believe this was happening to me in America,” said Roberto, noting, “We use these items every single day to pray.”
Elana Birman said the flight attendant’s request was akin to asking a Christian to “throw a cross on the floor” where it could be stepped on. She also commented, “Nobody said a word. Nobody defended us. It was embarrassing,” she said.
Read the full story at The New York Post
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