{"id":14018,"date":"2013-06-05T15:45:04","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T11:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/?p=14018"},"modified":"2013-06-05T15:45:04","modified_gmt":"2013-06-05T11:45:04","slug":"they-treated-us-like-terrorists-100-jewish-students-kicked-off-airtran-flight-in-new-york-after-refusing-to-turn-off-their-phones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive2.ankakh.com\/en\/?p=14018","title":{"rendered":"‘They treated us like terrorists’: 100 Jewish students kicked off AirTran flight in New York after refusing to turn off their phones"},"content":{"rendered":"

A large group of Jewish high school students have been kicked off a flight after some refused to turn off their cell phones for take-off.<\/p>\n

The school party of 100 students and eight chaperones were removed from an\u00a0AirTran flight on its way to Atlanta, Georgia from New York City on Monday around 6 a.m.<\/p>\n

Some have claimed that the airline overreacted to the senior students’ actions with one saying that they were targeted for being Jewish.<\/p>\n

SouthWest Airlines confirmed to MailOnline that 137 were on board the flight at the time when 108 passengers were asked to leave.<\/p>\n

Teachers, who were with the group from the Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn, claimed that airline crew had over-reacted. The chaperones were also removed from the flight.<\/p>\n

One student\u00a0Jonathan Zehavi told\u00a0CBS<\/a>: ‘They treated us like we were terrorists; I\u2019ve never seen anything like it. I\u2019m not someone to make these kinds of statements.<\/p>\n

”I think if it was a group of non-religious kids, the air stewardess wouldn\u2019t have dared to kick them off.’<\/p>\n

In a statement to MailOnline, SouthWest Airlines said: ‘Our crew, responsible for the overall safety of AirTran flight 345 from New York LaGuardia to Atlanta… had a group of non-compliant passengers leave the aircraft before departing the gate.<\/p>\n

‘Reports from flight attendants and other customers confirm some passengers in the group would not sit down in their seats and some were using their mobile devices.<\/p>\n

‘Both are violations of Federal Air Regulations, as well as our policies. The crew, led by the Captain, asked several times that the passengers comply with regulations.<\/p>\n

‘The issue ultimately delayed the flight\u2019s departure to Atlanta. All members of the group were accommodated on other flights this morning.’<\/p>\n

But school officials had a different account.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Seth Linfield, executive director at Yeshiva of Flatbush, said the school was still investigating but the adults on the trip said the students weren’t behaving that badly.<\/p>\n

‘Preliminarily, it does not appear that the action taken by the flight crew was justified,’ he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

He said the school had taken similar sized groups in the past without incident,\u00a0NBC News<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b>said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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