{"id":7539,"date":"2024-10-20T23:20:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T23:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo5.dedicatedhost247.com\/zexo\/lufthansa-fined-record-4-million-for-discriminating-against-jewish-passengers\/"},"modified":"2024-10-20T23:20:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T23:20:54","slug":"lufthansa-fined-record-4-million-for-discriminating-against-jewish-passengers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo5.dedicatedhost247.com\/zexo\/lufthansa-fined-record-4-million-for-discriminating-against-jewish-passengers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lufthansa fined record $4 million for discriminating against Jewish passengers"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Germany\u2019s flagship airline has been fined $4 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation over allegations it discriminated against a group of Jewish passengers.<\/p>\n

The regulator said Tuesday that Lufthansa had prohibited 128 people wearing traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing from boarding for a connecting flight in Germany as they made their way from New York City to Budapest, Hungary, in May 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the alleged misconduct of some passengers,\u201d DOT said, Lufthansa staff \u201ctreated them all as if they were a single group and denied them boarding,\u201d despite many of the passengers not knowing each other nor traveling together.<\/p>\n

Some individuals in the group allegedly violated the airline\u2019s mask policy<\/a>. Video of the incident at the time showed Lufthansa staff telling passengers that \u201ceveryone has to pay\u201d for the mistakes of a few, then defining \u201ceveryone\u201d as \u201cJewish coming from JFK.\u201d At the time, German media reported that staff denied boarding to people they determined were Jewish because they were wearing a yarmulke (a Jewish skull cap) or had sidelocks (known as payot in Hebrew).<\/p>\n

The penalty is the largest ever issued by the DOT against an airline for a civil rights violation.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one should face discrimination when they travel, and today\u2019s action sends a clear message to the airline industry that we are prepared to investigate and take action whenever passengers\u2019 civil rights are violated,\u201d U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.<\/p>\n

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Lufthansa planes at Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 17, 2023.<\/span>Andre Pain \/ AFP via Getty Images file <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration\u2019s special envoy against antisemitism, told NBC News in 2022<\/a> that the details of how the airline had treated the passengers were \u201cunbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[When] I first heard it, I said, \u2018Oh, this must be wrong. Someone must be misreporting this.\u2019 And then of course, it turned out to be precisely right \u2014 and worse than we even thought,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In a statement Tuesday, the airline said it had fully cooperated with the DOT as it conducted its investigation and that it had partnered with the American Jewish Committee in the wake of the incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our ongoing collaboration, we have curated a first-of-its kind training program in the airline industry for our managers and employees to address antisemitism and discrimination,\u201d it said. \u201cLufthansa is dedicated to being an ambassador of goodwill, tolerance, diversity, and acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, the carrier apologized<\/a> for the incident, saying it had \u201czero tolerance for racism, antisemitism and discrimination of any type.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lipstadt said in 2022: \u201cIf any airline had done it, it would have been outrageous. But the terrible, awful irony of it coming from the German national airline was outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rob Wile<\/a><\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Rob Wile is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering breaking business stories for NBCNews.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Josh Lederman and Olympia Sonnier contributed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n