USA: Orthodox Jewish Couple Banned On Spirit Airlines For Life Sue The Airline

An Orthodox Jewish couple’s lawsuit against Spirit Airlines opens with words that will attract plenty of attention.

In a civil rights and defamation suit filed May 2 in the U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Yechezkel Rodal and Thomas Patti of the Fort Lauderdale firm Rodal Law, wrote: Those ‘Retarded Jews’ Yisroel Sternberg and Chana Beck sue defendant Spirit Airlines.

The complaint continues: These so-called ‘Retarded Jews’ simply wanted a peaceful flight to Fort Lauderdale and to enjoy the start of their family vacation. What began as Spirit’s misunderstanding about a car seat, ended with Yisroel and Chana being forced to endure old-fashioned anti-Semitism and racism at the hands of Spirit, Spirit calling the police — on the Strernbergs, their return tickets rescinded, and to top it off — a lifetime ban from Spirit.

Their crime? Being visibly religious Jews.

At heart of the suit is the epithet Sternberg, 28, and Beck, 25, say another passenger, whom the suit did not identify, told them he heard the flight crew refer to them as the retarded Jews.

They had flown on Jan. 8 from Newark to Fort Lauderdale with their three daughters — ages 6 weeks, 2 and 3.

The couple, along with their children, had been escorted off the plane by two Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies who, the suit says, had responded to a 911 call by Spirit that said the couple were being disruptive and cursing at the flight attendants and stuff like that.

It’s at that point they learned what the crew had allegedly called them, from the fellow passenger.

At that point, it all becomes very clear to the Sternbergs. The flight crew of the flight was discriminating against them because the Sternbergs were Jewish, according to the suit Rodal filed on behalf of the family.

Spirit Airlines, with headquarters in Miramar, said through its media relations manager Derek Dombrowski: Spirit Airlines strives to maintain a welcoming environment for all of our guests, and we have zero tolerance for discrimination. Because of pending litigation, we will not be commenting further.

The lawsuit said the chain of events began when the couple bought an FAA-approved Doona Infant Car Seat for their youngest daughter, the 6-week-old.

They say they purchased a ticket for a seat on the plane to strap in the seat even though they could have held their child on one of their laps.

A ticket agent and the gate agent told the Sternbergs they could not bring the car seat onboard, the suit said.

But after convincing both agents that the seat was FAA-approved and could be folded from a wheeler-stroller into a carriage for an airplane seat, a Spirit staff supervisor told them they could board the plane with the car seat.

But then, they say, the flight crew irately told them they could not use the car seat aboard the flight.

Once again, they explained the seat was approved. A complaint resolution official (CRO) from Spirit intervened and told the flight crew the Sternbergs could, indeed, use the seat during the flight.

That’s when things devolved, the suit says.

Perhaps even more upset that these Jews had her contradicted by the CRO, the flight attendant became even more antagonistic toward the Sternbergs, the suit continued. “

After the CRO left, the lead female flight attendant responded that she did not care what anyone else said regarding the car seat because she was not allowing it on her plane.

The Sternbergs, at this point, had to have the car seat stowed below and the baby’s mother held her daughter in her lap for the duration of the flight.

But when her husband swapped places to sit in an empty seat adjacent to his wife’s seat to help with the children, another flight attendant ran over to berate Yisroel for sitting in a row with a lap child because, purportedly, the row did not have enough oxygen masks for everyone, the suit said.

Sternberg moved back to his original seat and asked for the flight attendant’s name. The man refused, according to the suit, which names him as Jose.

Allegedly, Jose told Sternberg to shut up and that there would be law enforcement waiting for the couple in Fort Lauderdale.

According to the suit, the Sternbergs were told their return flight to Newark was canceled by the airline and that they were forever banned from all flights Spirit Airlines flies.

The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for personal humiliation, loss of capacity for enjoyment of life, mental anguish and embarrassment. The suit also asks for a jury trial.

The suit says the retarded Jews statement allegedly applied to the couple was picked up by the media around the world causing them further embarrassment.


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