As more details emerge, the case of 18 Jewish schoolgirls being removed from a Delta flight bound for New York becomes even stranger. The story involves New York Senator Chuck Schumer, Delta CEO Ed Bastian, and an alleged seat changing snafu that led to the girl’s mass ejection.
The Problem Started Before The Delta Flight
According to Rabbi Yisroel Kahan, the girls were “chided” on their Kiev to Amsterdam KLM flight not to eat outside meal times and to fix their masks, because their noses were not covered. That’s an important admission.
The girls were originally scheduled to travel on KLM from Kiev to New York via Amsterdam on Thursday, August 5th, but were allegedly hit with fines of 3,000EUR each upon arrival in Amsterdam due to the mask violations and then denied boarding on the KLM service to New York.
A group of of 18 Jewish girls en-route from #Ukraine to the #US, reportedly detained by @Schiphol security demanding $3,000 fine each for alleged #Mask violations. The were selected alphabetically from amongst a group of 50 tourists.@NLinNY @NLatUN @NLintheUSA
📷 @saboteur360 pic.twitter.com/sK7Mvdj5iQ
— Rabbi Yisroel Kahan 🇺🇸 (@ykahan) August 5, 2021
New York Senator Chuck Schumer + Delta CEO Ed Bastian Step Up To Rebook Girls
According to Kahan, the girls’ chaperone contacted him, he contacted Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Schumer’s office contacted Delta CEO Ed Bastian directly. While waiting to hear back, he booked the girls’ on a United flight to Newark on Friday. They spent Thursday night in the airport.
UPDATE: The group has reservations with @United for tomorrow (Friday) am.
Meanwhile they are spending the night in a cordoned off area of the Airport. pic.twitter.com/Q1BT2o7kBC
— Rabbi Yisroel Kahan 🇺🇸 (@ykahan) August 5, 2021
Bastian’s office eventually agreed to accommodate the girls on a Delta flight without charge. (It pays to know people in high places). The group boarded the Delta flight on Friday morning.
Thanks to the intervention of @SenSchumer, @Delta (which partners with @KLM) has offered to fly the entire group home at no charge.
— Rabbi Yisroel Kahan 🇺🇸 (@ykahan) August 6, 2021
Onboard that Delta flight, a seat change may have prompted the ejection of 18 girls. Kahan noted that a mother who was not part of the girl had asked one of the girls to swap seats so that she could sit with her son.
The girl agreed, but when she stood up to move, a flight attendant screamed at her for “not obeying the rules.” She tried to move back to her seat, but was instead ejected from the flight along with 17 of her classmates.
However, the girls refused to vacate the aircraft per the advice of the group’s attorney (which had been called via mobile phone). The refusal to step off the aircraft resulted in Delta asking every other passenger to vacate the aircraft before law enforcement were called in to deal with the girls.
BREAKING: After 24 hours in the airport, the remaining group members were already in their seats on @Delta, when a mother asked one of them to switch seats so that she can sit next to her son. And for that SIN, they were deplaned. pic.twitter.com/CwYaxBv83P
— Rabbi Yisroel Kahan 🇺🇸 (@ykahan) August 6, 2021
Another passenger backed up that account:
“We saw a group of girls, very nice and quiet. We saw a lady ask some of the girls to change [seats] and the girls say, ‘Why not?’ and they change [seats].”
“The flight attendants start to announce the names of the girls, say they have to come down. The girls started to cry. They didn’t feel they did anything wrong here. Why are they so nasty to them?”
Kahan added that a security guard forced the girl’s to delete pictures and video of the incident from their phone.
Thrown off the flight, the girls traveled to Antwerp, Belgium to spent the Sabbath before finally flying to New York on Delta on Sunday.
KLM Defends Its Actions
KLM has issued a lengthy statement about the incident:
Safety is KLM’s top priority. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines does not tolerate any form of unruly behavior towards passengers or crew. When passengers endanger flight safety and thus the safety of themselves, other passengers, and the crew, we take this very seriously. This also applies to passengers not adhering to COVID-19 measures. These measures are clearly communicated before and during travel to our passengers.
On the 20th of July a large group of passengers on flight KL644 from New York JFK to Amsterdam refused to follow crew instructions on board. Upon arrival in Amsterdam this group was again cautioned and explained the possible consequences of unruly behavior by KLM’s security department. It was also made very clear that this was the last warning.
The same group travelled from Kiev to Amsterdam on the 5th of August and again did not adhere to crew instructions and showed unruly behavior on board. Upon arrival, a group of 21 passengers (1 booking) was therefore offloaded and not allowed to travel on to New York. This group has been rebooked on a Delta flight from Amsterdam to New York today.
In short, KLM says the girls were “unruly” onboard multiple flights and defines unruly as not following COVID-19 protocols, which in this case seems to be wearing a mask below the nose and removing masks for eating at the wrong time.
The girls claims they only removed their masks to eat and were forced to eat due to the lack of Kosher meals onboard.
However, based upon Rabbi Kahan’s remarks, it does appear the girls were not properly wearing their masks.
A Timeline Of What Occurred
So let’s review the timeline:
- July 20 – girls fly from New York to Amsterdam on KLM
- August 5- girls fly from Kiev to Amsterdam on KLM, are denied boarding on their connection to New York, spend the night in the airport
- August 6 – girls are rebooked on Delta but removed due to a seat change controversy and potentially mask violations and/or eating onboard outside of designated meal times, spend Shabbat in Antwerp, Belgium
- August 8 – girls fly to New York on Delta without incident
Unanswered Questions
There’s still a few things that do not add up:
- If the girls were were fined 3,000EUR each for mask violations, wouldn’t that have been by Dutch officials? How could that issue just go away?
- Was this whole incident over the girls refusing to keep their masks above their nose?
- Why was only part of the group thrown off versus the entire group or the one member (on Delta) who changed seats?
To remove the whole group based upon one seat exchange seems like a stretch unless it was the straw that broke the camel’s back and there were mask and eating violations that led up to it.
Concerning the onboard consumption of food, it still isn’t clear to me whether Delta has an unpublished rule against eating only during meal times, which certainly is not required by the U.S. federal mask mandate.
CONCLUSION
This case keeps getting weirder. Hardly a simple matter, there are a lot of moving parts at play and it isn’t clear to me whether the girls deserved the behavior they received for failing to mask up or whether KLM and Delta woefully overreacted or even treated the young women poorly on account of their Jewish identity.
Were you onboard the flight? We are looking for additional witnesses onboard. Please reach out I the comments section below if you were onboard any of the flight in questions and share what you observed.
image: Lentokonefani
When KLM comes up with a general statement of unruly passengers and NOT point to what that so called “Unruly” here means. I lean towards doubting them. Also how likely all 21 passengers from one booking did not adhere to the rules?. Also how does KLM or the crew know exactly of what happened in each of the flights unless there was a report from each of the flights with their names since its a group of around 50 and only 21 passengers from one booking is the problem.
Something is not smelling right
So much for any comments from “onboard witnesses “. You know the old saying, everybody’s got one.
I’m Jewish and was pretty sympathetic when the first story broke. However, after having a SECOND incident I wonder if the girls might be troublemakers. I agree with BlackHill, something doesn’t seem right here and I’m wondering if there’s a lot more to the story.
I believe that there is more to the story however I also believe that the FA’s on the second flight were well aware of the girls and frankly looking for them. And yes I am Jewish as well. Let’s get the girls home I think there is sufficient blame to go around especially the FA’s and security.
KLM’s statement makes some of the reasons for the action (and responses to your questions) pretty clear. Most likely they decided to deny boarding to all the passengers on the same PNR when an issue arose, and it is very possible that there were 18 (or 21) passengers on that single PNR and that the passengers were placed in that PNR in alphabetical order when the group was being booked.
self righteous group of travelers meet zero-tolerance flight attendants… you’ll never believe what happens next
Lol, this so true. I don’t know why there has to be conspiracies or alleged anti-Semitism. Obviously these girls were a pain the hoo-hoo already on the 2st flight, and got away with s stern warning. Then, them being teenage girls, were again being a pain where the sun don’t shine, and the FAs we’re done dealing with it. Most times the most obvious and logical explanation matching all accounts is the right one? By the time of their Delta booking I’m sure Delta was already on edge , Schumer forcing a top mgmt “fly these girls to NY” order likely didn’t help Delta crew being more sympathetic to the girls, and the rest is history.
WOW “moma” This thread needs to be taken down it’s about to get ugly
Perhaps there should also be some acknowledgment that one of the girls giving up her seat to a mother who wanted to sit with her son is hardly ‘unruly’ behavior and is deserving of recognition that maybe these were very well behaved girls who, at worst, might be characterized as ‘naive’. The girl in question might have thought to ask for permission first to change her seat but, to be fair, what adult would even have done so?
Jewish girls have been treated worse for doing less…
“Kahan added that a security guard forced the girl’s to delete pictures and video of the incident from their phone.” Who has the right to enforce that? BTW, if this clown knows anything about technology, once the picture is taken it usually goes immediately to the cloud. Ask Obama trying to delete his pictures dancing maskless in his birthday party. Yes, he is “sophisticated.” LOL!!!!!
Most of these girls do NOT carry smart phones. Photos are stored locally on the device
Are you kidding me? Are you saying they still carry a flip phone? I don’t know a single teen that doesn’t carry an iPhone or an Android and once a picture is taken it is already in the cloud or on some sort of social media.
That is the case here. These girls don’t have smartphones.
If they truly only have flip phones, they deserve to be shunned by society just for that alone
How on earth do you know that to be fact? Were you there? Are you one of these trouble making hooligans?
Dont speak for others and dont presume.
This whole situation is very strange and makes me doubt the airline. I 100% think that unruly passengers should be taken off the plane, but I have strong doubts that the passengers here were very unruly. I have been on many flights during the pandemic. At least a quarter of the passengers on every flight are not properly wearing their masks, never seen anyone ejected. Second, on none of the flights have there been any rules about when people could eat, people ate at different times throughout the flights. It also makes sense – why not stagger having masks off instead of having everyone have their masks off at once. Something seems very off here…
Wait, in one place the article says, “According to Rabbi Yisroel Kahan, the girls were “chided” on their Kiev to Amsterdam KLM flight not to eat outside meal times and to fix their masks, because their noses were not covered.” However, in another, it says, “girls are rebooked on Delta but removed due to a seat change controversy and potentially mask violations and/or eating onboard outside of designated meal times.” The “eating outside of meal time” thing was on the KLM flight, not the Delta flight, right? Obviously, the Delta flight had not even taken off yet when they were removed.
From what I’ve heard so far, it sounds like KLM was completely justified in kicking the girls off and Netherlands authorities were justified in fining them. When they were refusing to abide by the rules on both the JFK-AMS flight and again on the Kiev-AMS flight, that’s on them.
And Sen Schumer getting involved is ridiculous. He should be reprimanded by the Senate for that.
However, as much as I normally like Delta, the actions of the Delta crew seem odd at best here. From what information we have, it sounds like at least one member of the Delta cabin crew was just looking for the first excuse to toss the group before they got off the ground so they wouldn’t have to deal with them for the whole flight. Which is somewhat understandable for a group of people that you’re aware has been violating the safety rules on at least two different partner flights on the same trip. But agreeing to swap seats with a mom who asks to sit next to her child is not against any sort of rule whatsoever and that’s an absolutely absurd reason to kick anyone, let alone the whole group, off of the aircraft. Now, if it were done while taxiing or something like that, that would be a completely different story, but I haven’t heard anything suggesting that that was the case. It sounds like they were still parked at the gate, in which case there’s absolutely no rule against swapping seats, let alone against doing so as a courtesy to a mom who requests to sit next to her child. If there’s not more to this story, then the crew was out-of-line.
Unfortunately, while they do seem to be less common on Delta and Southwest than some other U.S. airlines, I think all of us who have flown more than a few times are well aware that power-tripping FAs can be a problem at times. And I’m guessing them having to constantly deal with obnoxious passengers not wanting to follow rules that are clearly stated at the time of booking and repeated again at check, at constantly at the airport, and again on the plane for the past year+ is not helping in making them less trigger-happy. But, while that may make it somewhat more understandable, it still doesn’t make kicking a group off because a passenger swapped seats with someone after being asked to do so excusable in any way. If that is indeed what happened, then the crew needs a reprimand at the least. Stranding people in a foreign country over false allegations that they were “breaking rules” is not acceptable.
This statement is all I needed to read…..” However, the girls refused to vacate the aircraft per the advice of the group’s attorney (which had been called via mobile phone).”
I agree. This group of naive school girls have a lawyer on speed dial?! This apparently not their first rodeo! There is alot more to this.
If you’re following the story, this is the second flight they were kicked off, and they were put in touch with a lawyer by an advocate trying to assist them in getting home without incident.
In my opinion, the attorney in question did not give good advice. (” However, the girls refused to vacate the aircraft per the advice of the group’s attorney (which had been called via mobile phone).” He was not there and had not first hand knowledge of the issue but was relying on hearsay. Giving the girls license to provoke the airline was NOT good advice.
In twitter video still isnt wearing mask correctly…its not that hard.
I’d bet, based on the fact that there were 2 incidents on different flights, that the girls were being troublemakers.
I think it more shows the FAs were anti-semitic and looking for an excuse.
Ok DRichard…… So FAs on THREE separate planes all called eachother and colluded to be antisemetic.
That has to be the dumbest assessment yet. To make such a statement shows how ridiculous one side of this dialogue is…. Play the victim card for an entire group when there was clearly an isolated incident involving the same single group of girls and three completley different groups of FAs. Yeah, go one, call it a conspiracy like your monkey leader Trump would have you think!
Use your head, not that nob three feet below your head.
Whoever is saying that it is very suspicious that a group was innocently pulled off a plane THREE times should take not that it was the same man who intervened in all three scenarios.
I do not think that being pulled off THREE times by ONE agent has to arise suspicion. It is that one person who we should be suspecting.
“the girls refused to vacate the aircraft per the advice of the group’s attorney”
So these girls committed crimes, supposedly on the advice of their attorney, used their privilege to avoid any real consequences and they still want to pull the anti-semitism card? What about courtesy and respect for the 200 or so other people who were delayed by two hours by the antics of these brats?
Hey! We are pulling the anti-semitism card for being asked to deplane originally. Maybe the crew had the right to get mad when the girls did not listen and stayed seated but the question that should not be avoided is whether the crew is right for telling them to deplane originally, for switching seats.
Yes, I do feel that the girls did well by staying seated. Just try to put yourself in their shoes for just a moment, if you would be told by a crew member that you have to deplane because of switching seats (after being held in the airport overnight, being treated cruelly, having to beg to get food in, to you and so on) would you just go off? Or would you try to make sense of the situation and make sure your rights are being met? Do not tell me that you would just deplane because then I will feel bad for you that you do not know how to stick up for your own rights.
After the treatment, they got they obviously did not want to stay another minute with these crew people in the airport. Therefore their last resort was to at least TRY to get out of the country that hated them.
They are Jews the lawyer was probably someone’s family. Read the book the Jewish phenomenon. Having a lawyer, a doctor, a financial advisor, a banker on speed dial is elementary for them. Yes they are blessed and are well aware of it.
Shame on you for spewing this anti-Semitic bile
Anti Semitic comment
Your an ASS.
Eff off Joy. Losers like you are what spoil good things for everyone.
its jealous cowards like you who make this world miserable.
I don’t care if they are Jewish or Muslim or Catholic etc., (I’m Jewish); in this day and age with COVID, it sounds like on multiple flights they refused to follow COVID protocols and the airline had enough.. seriously, they misbehaved, they reached out to some people, like Schumer etc., and made this about religion and anti-semitism…
the kids misbehaved and they should have gotten a good life lesson, instead they were taught that when caught misbehaving instead of facing the consequences, throw your weight around until someone does something to fix what you did wrong yourself.
Proud of KLM for standing up and saying, look they were brats, they had multiple chances to behave and they didn’t..
Bottom line: it helps to have have a sympathetic someone to call and complain to, especially if they have access to powerful people (youg girls had a lawyer to call???). Unfortunately, no one got punched in the face and lost teeth, or was dragged screaming off the plane and phone video viralized all over social media. In this case it seems to be the media or the Rabbi blowing the situation up for publicity and yelling Anti-Semitism to get max traction. I suspect this will be a my word against theirs type of scenario. I side for the airlines.
Siding with the airlines is like siding with the mafia.
An attorney on speed dial telling them to refuse to deplane? This is a setup for a lawsuit, this was probably planned before they boarded the flight.
So Joe, you think when people are mistreated they ought to swallow the pill and remain quiet. I guess you are such a criminal, that you never came to realize that there are laws and that when law isn’t being lived up to, subject gets to reach out to attorneys and lawyers for help. I strongly support this group, how much better could they have reacted than reaching out to the parties that could help them properly???? Happy to bring this new idea to your attention, Anna
Sen Chuck Schumer should immediately sponsor those girls & their families to emigrate en masse to the US. Why else were they coming? Oh & Delta/KLM should fly all of them here to the USA, for free, as a show of Jewish strength, pride, power & solidarity.
Clearly you didnt read the entire article?
They already live in the US. Likely on WIC and SNAP benefits.
You are a truly disgusting person, Miro. I hope you drive off a cliff.
I was on a flight recently where I witnessed a woman smoking an e-Cigarette. I informed the flight attendant. After the flight attendant contacted the captain, she warned the passenger, she continued to violate federal law. She was not removed from the flight nor was she fined.
I know this to be true because she and her companion disembarked the plane with no consequences! They were white passengers. Would this have been tolerated had they been minorities?
Leave it to United Airlines to save the day!
Even if they were wearing the mask below the nose that is hardly a reason for a $3,000 fine. KLM is being quite salty here, these are 50 teenagers traveling after all
These brats should have been put in detention at AMS but instead they got royal treatment from the highest echelons of govt and business….reflecting the intersection of political correctness and fear of bad publicity. Contrast this experience with that of ordinary travelers…
detention for not wearing a mask till their eyebrows?! maybe we should consider jail??? do you even realize what this world has come too? what is wrong with some of you?!?!
It seems KLM and Delta executives forgot the 80’s famous lyrics :
They just wanna
They just wanna
Girls
Just wanna
Girls just wanna have fun
They just wanna
Girls just wanna have fun
Just wanna
Just wanna
They just wanna
They just wanna
When the working day is done
Everybody
They just wanna
I have seen plenty of mask violations, with ZERO consequences. That ain’t the issue, and anyone who thinks so has not flown in the past year. What is the issue? No clue; I do not believe the fact that the girls were Jewish had a role, but I am not so sure the same actions would have been taken if they were Black.
My friend was on the flight where they were kicked off and he said they were very unruly. He posted about it before the news even came out. He was surprised that this became such a big story.
Can you share a link to his post or any pictures/video he took?
Ron, how silly you are for believing your friend, you must be super naïve. He’s wondering why this became such a big story. So he thought, along with the idiotic flight crew, that kicking innocent passengers off twice will finish off quietly. Wrong, KLM wreaked havoc, THEY WILL EAT THE FRUITS! Suppose the girls weren’t that quiet on flight one. Ok. I was on that plane, they were snoring away. Think deeply for a minute. Does it add up, that the first eighteen girls in attendance are thrown off without being given an exact reason? Every flight attendant had something else to say, they weren’t even on one page. I witnessed the barbaric sight in front of my eyes, where one more fortunate girl tried supplying her forlorn friends with food right before boarding, she was given hell for that noble act! Now everything set aside, next morning they board again and are kicked off for a seat switch… I would say that had it been one flight the story might not have been all over. It’s the mistake they made when kicking harmless girls off again, that gave their dirty tactics away!
Ron, you must be super naïve for believing that friend of yours. He wonders why this story spiraled out of control. Well, I’ll tell you why. KLM wreaked havoc, AND THEY WILL EAT THE FRUITS! Take a deep breath and think sensibly, does it add up that a group was detained collectively in order of attendance, one day after the other? Had the airlines done it once, I would try to understand. In my humble opinion it is the fact that they were kicked off again, this time for a seat switch, that gave the dirty tactics away. I was on that plane, listening to the even snores of an exhausted group of girls sleeping peacefully. There was no unruly behavior, just the regular chit chatter of the girls who managed to stay awake. And I witnessed the barbaric sight right before my very eyes. I watched how one more fortunate girl gave the last remnants of her food to her forlorn friends right before boarding, boy did she receive hell for this noble act! My friend, there are rules and regulations in this world, there are harassment laws enforced just like safety rules are set. And this story should continue reaching the ears of residents around the country! The time has come to put an end to the abuse mid air.
Maybe I am an idiot. But how would someone go about and try to identify and classify folks as Jewish girls based on behaviour , unless pre-targetted.
Since Covid Airlines, especially Crew and Check-in Agents, have been under huge pressure which has resulted in multiple incidents worldwide including violence. This has made the Staff jumpy, nervous and sometimes agressive beyond the norms expected before the Pandemic. Only this week two guys were kicked off a UK easyjet flight for taking off their shoes whilst sitting in an emergency exit row. Odd considering the fact that you are often asked to remove shoes when using an escape slide. In the end all the Passengers mutinied and easyjet ended up chainging the Crew and re-instating the denied passengers. Absurd in itself. But, it would seem here that the Group had had their card marked outbound and the return KLM Crew had been pre-warned and decided to take a zero-tolerance approach to any minor misdemeanour so “to save themself a problem” in-flight.
But since the Pandemic started many Airlines have become un-friendly intolerant and with regard to ticketing, cancellations, refunds or vouchers, wholly unreasonable, if not allegedly entirely dishonest. There has been a culture change in this Industry and one that is not for the better. What it seems to me is when the going got tough, the tough got going alright all to the detriment of the Customer they forgot that they are there to serve.
Dumb girls be dumb girls. Stop trying to play the religion card. Like the race card it is so tedious and doesn’t excuse bad behaviour.
sorry they had no bad behavier at all
I’m not sure who is t blame, but the solution is for those not super-keen to adhere to all covid safety rules to fly with more pragmatic airlines. BA, AF, KLM are enthusiastically enforcing every rule (even though they also say onboard transmission is not really a thing). The solution would have been to fly with airlines that take a more scientific approach and less of a rules-based approach. I have several personal experiences with BA that were completely unreasonable. That is what I try to do. Caveat emptor.
What kind of attorney would advise these girls to refuse to leave the plane when the crew is demanding it!? Thats insane and they should have enough sense to disregard their attorneys advice when it’s that bad.
They’re lucky they weren’t arrested for trespassing
they did nothing wrong to be removed of the plane
i was on that plane
it was or antisemetic or crazy
Only real religious issue here is that Schumer (who’s supposedly working nonstop) took time to help a group of fellow Jewish people get preferential treatment. I seriously doubt he’d have bent over for a group of Methodists.
Penalty for not wearing masks is 95 Euro in NL (111 dollar) and is only possible after warning.
People in the netherlands are not afraid to discuss, you will never be removed immediatly.
Calling something antisemtism of racism in the Netherlans is considered to be personally insulting, and will led to very cautious following rules exactly, just to show they trade everyone as equal.
Because of airplane safety there is a very strict rule if people continue to dismiss instructions repeatedly, whatever how little it is, people will be removed.
i was on the plane the girls had masks on all the time
and changed seats very qwitly i set in front of them
i didnt even know that they changed
i just heard them yelling to get off the plane
and then all off
i didnt know what hapened why all off
this was very cruel of them
i know some of these girls and they are the finest uve ever seen. i dont believe one word! met them in Europe, htey were walking around very maturely without making too much noise. well raised girls!
yes! Sara, thanks for bringing it up. these girls are well raised girls. unlike some of the posters here. jewish girls will never get as rowdy as others.
I think the saddest truth is, that the airline personal is drunk on power. We have seen the true colors of many people come out during this pandemic. Some of them were heroic. Some of them, less so. I was on that plane. The girls, were being girls. Typical girls. Typical teenagers. They were not, and I confidently repeat, NOT, being unruly. As a matter of fact, most of them were sleeping… Besides, don’t you think that after being kicked off one plane, they would be quiet as mice on the next one?? It’s only natural. I have heard that they were being silent sheep on that second flight. why were they kicked off again?? Because another women wanted to switch seats?? Interesting newsflash: That other women wasn’t kicked off for switching seats. Another piece of interesting news: Where in the history of the airplane, was someone kicked off a plane for switching seats?? That’s pathetic. And these airline personal are so drunk on power, they don’t even realize it. I don’t know what this means, and I don’t like playing the anti-semitism card, but it definitely stinks of something….
To all those commenting on the “flip phone” part of this- Im just shocked at how low society is sinking.
The fact that there are a group of 18 girls in todays crazy world who are not addicted to todays technology is a WOW factor for me.
In fact, all those nasty comments must stem from a place of looow self esteem.
KEEP GOING! KEEP GOING WHOEVER YOU ARE. WE ARE PROUD TO SAY THAT THE UNITED STATES STILL HAS 18 GIRLS WHO CAN STICK TO THEIR GUNS AND NOT GET PULLED DOWN BY SOCIETY’S TECHNOLOGY MUD.
I have to agree with jade. I happen to think that the reason that these girls were seen as ‘unruly’ to begin with, is because of the phone. Only because it is the norm for everyone to be totally socially off, not talk to anyone, only stare into a small, little rectangular device, for an insane number hours… has it become funny to see people actually TALK to each other. So, when these girls were simply CONVERSING, it was seen as UNRULY BEHAVIOR, because the rest of society only socializes with their phones….
Guys, I have no words. Seriously, is this how far humanity stooped??
I mean keeping up with stories in the news is very nice and entertaining. But all this name calling and curses are totally inapropriate and immomedst. Many of you are husbands/wives, fathers/mothers, employees and employers, Others, are children, teens or young adults. But really, it doesnt matter what your age is. If you want to be respected, youve got to respect others. And I, I have no respect for most of you here. Hurting another fellow is very bad. I dont like when people get embarresed. Ever since i was diagnosed with aspergers, i know what it feels like to be the center of attention and not always in a good way. I have so much pity on ppl taht also go through the worst type of punishment in this world: embarresment. I know that these girls are pure girls. because only pure and special ppl like me are ever teh center of attention. Even more so, based on the what the majority of you are writing I can tell that you weren’t on the plane and didn’t witness it first hand. Most of your comments are based on assumptions compiled from the news and your imagination. now my hand is hurting me so i will have to stop.
I believe what happened is a combo of airline staff drunk on power, Covid anxiety, a heaping tablespoon of old-fashioned anti-semitism, and some part culture clash/alienation. Here’s my guess what happened. The girls are most likely Hassidic (if you read between the lines you can figure it out) and look overtly Orthodox, buttoned up and wearing stockings in the summer, and appear alien and weird to the airline staff. From that point on, all their actions will get interpreted in a negative light. My guess is the girls must’ve spoken in Yiddish, and they were lively. Not unruly. The staff member hears the girls talking excitedly and assumes they’re cursing. Why assume that? Just one look at these girls with their flip phones and modest dress and it screams sheltered.
Then the girls further differentiate themselves by eating kosher food. One of the commenters wrote some drivel about the travelers being self-righteous. Whoa! Eating kosher food automatically makes you self-righteous? You can more readily understand the nasty perspective of the airline staff where anything different is seriously suspect in the eyes of the ignorant. The girls don’t eat their food at the same time as the others. Is there really such an injunction THOU SHALT EAT YOUR KOSHER FOOD ONLY AT THE SAME TIME AS THE PASSENGERS EACH THEIR AIRLINE FOOD? This is what got the staff into a tizzy?
Yes, if their masks didn’t cover their noses and all the other passengers were covering their noses, it was right to reprimand them. But not threaten to hold their friends hostage, stop the flight mid-way and drop them into the water, and jeer at them for eating kosher food. All of which happened, when I combine all the scraps I heard from various news sources.
The girls are treated poorly in the airport. Nowhere to sleep, they have no food, they are fined outrageous amounts. I don’t know. I’m so creeped out by KLM.
But here is the part that smells really bad. If the girls were too lively on the last leg of the flight, it seems by passenger accounts, they were extremely quiet on the Amsterdam leg. Whatever lesson they needed to learn, they learned it. That’s why it seems so very cruel, that here, a girl is being civic minded and generous, is willing to swap seats to accommodate another passenger, and she is SLAMMED for it, viciously. Second absurdity. The entire group is slammed. The entire group of obvious looking Jews is ejected. It’s at this point — sorry — I can’t help but look up Amsterdam’s history. Interesting fact of note: Of Amsterdam’s 100,000 pre-war Jews, 75,000 made it to the gas chambers, the highest percentage of any Western country. And for the longest time after the war it was popular to say, “Oh they forgot to gas you.”
Okay, I’m getting carried away. It sounds like some airline staff had hawk eyes out for even the vaguest most flimsy of excuses to pounce on those 18 Jewish girls.
i totally agree with Ruchama. they think that they can do whatever they want with jewish girls. jewish girls are the most refined, nice girls that i have had the pleasure of meeting! they should keep on fighting until they get whatever they deserve.
guys, you are getting carried away already. Jewish girls are nice, smart, open minded girls. so, they use a old fashioned “flip phone”, and so what? they dont sit on the internet like the rest of us. they like to have a good time, and this stupid KLM found someone to be their punching bag so they decided to aim it on these 18 girls, who dont know anything about life. and if anyone does stick up for KLM then they are stupid people that dont know to appreciate jewish girls. get a life.
Delta is a primary airline of mine. I’m saddened to learn about this confrontation. I’m sure there are two sides. The mask struggle only precipitates these confrontations. That said one could imagine a packing-on by the crew that could only lead to a very bad outcome for all concerned. Yeshiva girls in this case, turbaned men possibly in another. It leaves a poor impression in this customer’s mind.