Dear Dr. Rosenberg, Jetblue Didn’t Throw You Off For Being Jewish, They Threw You Off For Being Racist … NEXT
A week ago, on the 7th of July, as Jetblue Flight 454 prepared to depart from Gate C12, at West Palm Beach International Airport, a conflict arose between Lisa Rosenberg, M.D., a Jewish doctor from New York, seated in seat 7E and woman identified as a Palestinian in seat 9C.
On the 10th of July the Palm Beach Post published “Woman kicked off plane at PBIA after argument about Israel conflict “ in which the article states that that Dr. Rosenberg stated the Palestinian woman in seat 9C used racial slurs, threatened her daughter and Dr. Rosenberg is quoted as saying the incident was an “ugly, racially driven altercation” and that she “was completely outraged that I would be asked to leave a plane, being a Jew” …
… however …
… prior to Dr. Rosenberg’s statements to the Palm Beach Post the Jetblue flight attendant at the center of this incident filed her report that tells a much different story of the events as they unfolded on board Flight 454.
The initial internal report and final internal reports, both filed prior to the Palm Beach Post story, which I have been able to read in their entirely, and then verify, both squarely paint Dr. Rosenberg as the sole instigator of the events on board Flight 454. Furthermore both internal reports of the incident clearly lay out Dr. Rosenberg as the person who was in the midst of spewing hateful comments towards the Palestinian passenger in seat 9C, not vise versa.
The flight attendant’s reports states that the passengers in seats 12C and 11A were gesturing for her to quickly come to the front of the cabin during the boarding process, and began pleading with her to calm the situation between Dr. Rosenberg in seat 7E and the Palestinian woman in 9C.
The official internal report goes on to state that the flight attendant witnessed Dr. Rosenberg accuse the woman in 9C of being a “Palestinian murderer” and that “ her people are all murders and that they murder children,” while Dr. Rosenberg was attempting move through the cabin and position herself physically closer to the woman in Seat 9C.
Additional passengers on board Flight 454 continued to express concern for the their safety as Dr. Rosenberg continued to rant, even after being instructed by the flight attendant to cease her engagement with the woman in seat 9C, at which time the cabin crew requested a Complaint Resolution Official from the airline be contacted to board the aircraft, and Dr. Rosenberg was informed of FAM 2-13, G PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION, G.1 Race, Creed, or Colour, which says ” JetBlue provides equal service to all passengers regardless of race,creed, or colour.”
The official internal reports go on to state Dr. Rosenberg continued to openly verbalize offensive and inappropriate language while ranting about Gaza and the Palestinians.
Upon arrival of Jetblue’s Complaint Resolution Official the crew, including the Captain, needed to make a determination regarding regulation FAM 7-4, A.3.1 On The Ground, which lays out whether of not the removal of a passenger in necessary for the reasonable safety and comfort of other passengers.
As the Complaint Resolution Official began to speak directly with Dr. Rosenberg, she began to not only continue to verbally attack the woman in seat 9C, but openly imply that the woman had explosives in her bag and intended to blow up the aircraft in flight.
At this time Dr. Rosenberg launched in to a familiar rant flight attendant are accustomed to, threatening to make sure the flight attendant would be fired as she was removed from the aircraft and met on the jetway by officers from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department.
… through all of this, Jetblue Flight 454 managed to push off the gate only four minutes late and arrive at New York’s JFK International Airport’s Terminal 5 Gate 25 10 minutes early.
Now … of course the moral of this story is this … and I say this as a Jewish guy from New York … folks … we’re all in it together.
You cannot judge someone by their religion or their nationality and people need to stop blaming religious persecution for being removed from flights when in fact they were removed based upon their own actions. Jetblue’s internal reports lay out an exceptionally detailed accounting of the incident, with multiple witnesses to the incident and it would seem by all accounts Dr. Lisa Rosenberg, M.D., was out of line and spewing all the hate towards one passenger. When a passenger is verbally abusive towards others on the aircraft and proceeds to position themselves physically closer to a person they have picked a fight with, they should be removed from the aircraft. This is not a religious or racial issue; this is a safety and security issue.
Happy Flying … except Dr. Rosenberg, may I suggest renting a car and driving by yourself next time.
Thank you for your thoughts..We are in one world. Let’s treat everyone equally.
Thank you.
You’ve made a terrible mistake. Your story picks up with the arrival of the flight attendant, but does not make mention of any of the words exchanged prior. I’m not saying I know what happened either. The reality is that Dr. Rosenberg claimed that many things were said by this Palestinian woman prior to the flight attendant’s intervention. The title of your article, and your assumption of racism are both unfounded and intellectually dishonest.
Certainly any passenger minding their own business has the expectation to travel in peace, comfort and without harassment. And not having been on the flight I will not comment whose version is accurate. From the above we do not know what triggered Dr. Rosenberg to start ranting. It is possible the passenger in 9C may have made the three finger salute, a symbol of approval for the murder of the three Israeli Jewish Teenagers or some other subtle Anti Semitic display that others did not see or of course the flight attendant just plain lied (unlikely but cannot necessarily be ruled out)
As I do not know the passenger in 9C I cannot judge her character however it is not unusual of anti Israel/ Anti Semites to use others’ decency, morality and sensitivities against them so that a slight comment or gesture that the Dr. saw but the others did not could be the cause. Just because the Flight Attendant did not report a trigger does not mean one was absent as Dr. Rosenberg to go off by just seeing the other passenger is questionable as fact.
On the other hand, regardless of how intemperate Dr. Rosenberg ended up being, it’s her contention that the confrontations was initiated by the Palestinian Arab passenger, *before the flight attendant arrived*. Therefore the flight attendant’s report is inevitably going to be silent on that matter.
Not taking any sides here, just pointing out that your blog post is drawing a conclusion based on only part of what transpired.
Why are you so quick to side with the palestenian? ? Where did you get all your facts? Did you speak with Dr. Rosenberg? The Palestenian woman? I fly a lot and it is downright NAUSEATING how the airline crews are always SO OVERLY accomadating to the MUSLIMS DRESSSED IN THEIR SCARY Muslim garb where you dont know if the person is male or female. When will we Jews ever learn that our liberalism gets us nowhere???? They always STOP me and touch my skirt, my hair and the fully Garbed Muslims just sail through the securty. They marched us ALL into the gas chambers….even the ones were loyal to Deutschland. You never see Muslims defending us. Pathetic.
I’d like to know what side of the fence this reporter belongs to. Seems like lots of fluff and hyperbole and very little factual information-
“Dr. Lisa Rosenberg says that after another female passenger — who identified herself as a Palestinian — called her a “Zionist pig,” JetBlue flight crew ordered her to leave the plane as it stood on the ground at Palm Beach International Airport Monday.”
lol.
I agree with the most of your points; however the question is how did the Dr. find out that the passenger in 9C was Palestinian??? You would not know that I was Jewish unless I stated that to you; therefore, and who was the flight attendant?? That’s also part of the bottom line. I will never support anyone even my own kind as they disgrace themselves and others. However, the question is how did she know???!!!
I hadn’t heard about the original story, but great job reporting on the actual facts so the truth gets out there.
I would like to see this report. How is it that you were able to see it when Dr. Rosenberg herself was not able to? Does JetBlue release incident reports to the public?
Rachel,
As a matter of journalistic policy I do not publish confidential reports in their entirety when a source has asked me to not do so. . I came into possession of the initial and final internal crew reports because I cover aviation security and once Dr. Rosenberg mentioned that the passenger in 9C had explosives this story stepped into my domain.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Natalie,
I am unsure how Dr. Rosenberg came to know the passenger in 9C, who has confirmed she is in fact Palestinian, was Palestinian. I do know that the initial and final report indicate that the whole exchange was one sides, which takes information from the passengers in rows 11 and 12 who witnessed the entire exchange start to finish.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Dear Concerned Jew
It would seem no passengers on board flight 454 witnessed any actions from the woman in 9C towards Dr. Rosenberg. There were no reports of the woman, identified as the Palestinian Woman said anything to Dr. Rosenberg to instigate any of this.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Yehudis
The side of the fence I lean towards is that coming from multiple incident reports that factor in information from the flight attendant, complaint resolution official, the captain and other passengers. Those passengers didn’t hear or see the woman in 9C do anything towards Dr. Rosenberg, yet they all witnessed an on going situation involving Dr. Rosenberg ending in her stating the woman in 9C had explosives and planned to blow up the plane. At that time Dr. Rosenberg poses a threat to the flight and frankly I am surprised she was not interviewed by the JTTF after that comment.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Vicky,
Why do you find Muslim traditional attire scary? Oh and as a Jew who has worked with Islamic clients, and within Islamic nations, I have been defended by Muslims quite a few times.
I encourage you to expand your horizons and meet new people.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Craig,
My story picks up where? Where passengers who witnessed the entire exchange found Dr. Rosenberg to be out of control ranting and seeking to physically position herself closer to the woman in 9C? The flight attendant was called over by people present from start to finish and they were the ones concerned initially with Dr. Rosenberg’s behaviour.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Are there any actual -recordings- of these events?
Witnesses are a notoriously unreliable source of information.
Thank you for posting the truth we support you and your kind heart. We need to combat ignorance and blind anger by speaking out.
I am deeply saddened to see how people responded to this incident. It sounds like this woman attacked on the grounds of her cultural background. An airline would not make a brash judgement unless it was to protect the safety of the passengers. It has nothing to do with her religion but sounds like her bad behavior which has spawned even more hateful posts. I am so sad at how angry and ignorant people can be.
Of course, none of us were on the plane, or know what was said (or not said) before the flight attendant arrived, or can discern what is in the heart or mind of another. Everyone involved seems in agreement, however, that Dr. Rosenberg continued to use loud and intemperate language after being asked to quiet down and take her seat. It doesn’t matter what your religion or nationality is, or why you’re upset to begin with — if the flight crew says you need to sit down and relax so that the plane can take off, you either take the hint or expect to be “disinvited” from the passenger list.
Thank you for writing this. I have to say also, some of the comments here are quite troubling, particularly that of Vicky–glad you responded to that.
Still, your account leaves some things seriously unexplained. If the woman in 9C was not witnessed to have said ANYTHING to Dr. Rosenberg, clearly those witnesses had missed something. From your account, it sounds like Dr. Rosenberg was indeed disobeying flight crew’s requests to respect the other passenger, but it is EXTREMELY unlikely that it was so completely one-sided. It just doesn’t sound like a full story. I am willing to accept that some words were exchanged that were initially mild, and Dr. Rosenberg took off on a screaming tirade beyond what the other passenger did, but to say no one witnessed ANYTHING from the other passenger makes the story suspect.
You also didn’t respond to the comment above, asking how Dr. Rosenberg would even know the person was Palestinian. Dr. Rosenberg gave a plausible account of how the other person knew SHE was Jewish, but if that person had been completely silent, how would anyone know her nationality?
Also, I find it hard to believe you’d accept the airline’s report as the final version here. Clearly, they have an interest in justifying their decision to remove the passenger. I’m not saying they were wrong. But they’re a party to this disputatious event. They’re not the only ones whose words carry weight.
If you told me YOU interviewed other passengers, I’d be more willing to accept it. But you’re only giving us the airline’s version of the other passenger’s testimony. That’s not a very sound way of judging the whole situation.
I look forward to any follow-up posts on this story.
This whole story conflicts in every detail with information an FB friend of mine received when he telephoned Jet Blue and actually gives the answer to the question, ‘How did the Jewish woman know the woman in seat 9C was Palestinian?’ According to the company the altercation took place at the seat of the Jewish woman. In other words it was the Palestinian woman who left her seat in order to initiate the altercation. As someone else has pointed out, you began your report with the arrival of the flight attendant. So people witnessed the altercation, but not previous to the Palestinian woman leaving her seat – a not very likely scenario. Incidentally your dismissive remark about being scared of Muslim garb…. Jews don’t blow up planes. Muslims do, on a regular basis. Perhaps it’s you who should get out more.
I said “So people witnessed the altercation, but not previous to the Palestinian woman leaving her seat – a not very likely scenario….”
I meant to say “but not previous to the arrival of the flight attendant – a not very likely scenario.”
Hy Flying Fish/
HI. My horizons are very expanded. I grew up in Detroit with a very LARGE overwhelming ARAB population. I try to judge people individually, but unfortunately, I cannot say the same about others. I was told by an older Egyptian man some years ago that Muslims/Arabs are taught to hate Jews from the “womb” He was born and grew up before there was a State of Israel. Yes, I find the Muslim garb scary when all you can see are a set of eyes and you dont know who is underneath the veil and the robes. If I remember correctly, they are the ones for all the TERROR going on in the world. I see Jews like you defending Muslims all the time but sadly but I dont see the same in return. If I understand correctly, we are all infidels and unless you are just like them, you are doomed. . But I guess you are also doomed unless you are THEIR type of muslim….please check out the news today for Afganistan, Nigera, Syria, etc. Lets face it, they LOVE the body count and in our PC world we have to bend over backwards to accomodate the bad guys. I personally know Dr. Rosenberg….do you know any of the players in this or do you want your buddies in the Arab countries just to think what a swell guy you are?
Where did you read the report? I am just curious because if others could view it too, a few rumors about the situation could be dispelled. I feel like in this situation reading that report is the most reliable source of evidence in this case, as it was info gathered from all people invovled and witness to the incident.
I know Lisa Rosenberg personally, and this story that you paint is quite believable.
She is a very difficult person and a motor-mouth.
“I personally know Dr. Rosenberg”
Aha! No bias there, then. And you sound like your views echo Dr. Rosenberg’s to a T. Do you attack Muslims on planes too?
Should clarify – I was speaking to Vicky, not John.
A doctor? SMH! How repulsive and good on Jetblue for standing up for what is right.
Stephen,
I do have to agree with David, Bernard and Craig. Your article does state that a couple of passengers in rows 11 and 12 gestured for the flight attendant to come calm the situation between the doctor and the Palestinian woman. No where does it say what was said prior to the arrival of the flight attendant.
How did the doctor know that the woman was Palestinian? We don’t know for certain what the triggers were that caused the doctor to say what she allegedly said. I do believe if the doctor said something negative to the Palestinian woman, than she was likely provoked.
Hi,
Thank your sharing your report with us. I am just curious why the other papers are not correcting their original reports or other reports not discussing how this Dr. lied about what happened and was indeed the instigator?
Please advise….its very disconcerting this whole story whichever way we look at it.
I knew that there was more to this story.. Her motor mouth as John says got her in trouble, not being Jewish. She is using the racial card as a excuse and to start trouble. Vindictive comes to mind here. What occurred before the flight attendants came into play has nothing to do with why she got kicked off. If she kept her mouth shut and complied with the inflight crew she would have been on that flight. She chose to ignore the requests of the Inflight, CRO and Dr. Rosenberg mentioned that the passenger in 9C had explosives and will blow up the plane. Are you kidding me?? She was a risk and a safety issue to the flight and all it’s passengers at that point. They had no other recourse than to escort her out. Also I just want to add that passengers on that flight were witness to this. Not one objection to her being escorted out. Hence here is that the Doctor is a liar and very pissed. She played this well she should become a politician. She would fit right in.
An individual has a private phone conversation and someone decided to tell the individual having the conversation something negative related to the conversation. The someone should have done what any normal, intelligent person would have done and that is to keep her mouth shut.
So many Zionist trolls on this post! How much does the Israeli government pay you trolls to spread your propaganda, hmm? Or do you do it out of loyalty and duty to your illegal apartheid state? Well, keep trolling, the world -Jews and gentiles alike, are opening their eyes and seeing Israel for the war criminal she is!
Think it through flying fish. What are the odds Rosenberg went off without a reason. You know as well as anybody, that the initial incitor in almost any incident is rarely caught. I am not defending Rosenberg’s apparently over the top response, but to suggest that the witnesses saw the start of the incident is naive and does a disservice to everybody. If the Palestinian woman backed off, and Rosenberg did not listen to the crew, then the decision was correct. However, please do not make up garbage and even dare to suggest that this started unprovoked. That just makes you a spin doctor, which is your job, as you readily admit to, or just a plain liar.
Based on half the facts, and not knowing any others, you came to a conclusion. That is smart.
Dear vicky,
You sound like a swell lady. But you’re spouting horseshit. Please stop airing your laundry in public. If you’re any indication of what other people are like, then I’m liable to be held responsible for your words at some point. So, I’m compelled to defend myself and tell you off for the most hate-filled, bilious dreck on the internet today AND I’VE SPENT YEARS ON 4CHAN.
I’d like to imagine I can make that judgment now, if not for the lot of us Jews, then at least for me.
You owe us an apology.
I don’t care who started it. Dr. Rosenberg’s actions were what caused her to be removed. She was the one overreacting and ranting, not the woman in 9C. Even if the woman in 9C said something insulting, she should have enough self-control not to fly off into a tirade accusing her of having explosives and being a child murderer. It was for that behavior that she was removed. Notice that Dr. Rosenberg slandered this woman without any proof in front of witness, and she did not react the way Dr. Rosenberg did. Jet Blue removed her because she was acting inappropriately and would not stop, not because she was Jewish.
Dave,
It is based on multiple reports, so it is not half the facts.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
SWP,
There was no independent report of the woman in 9C making any contact with Dr. Rosenberg, this includes the fellow passengers around Dr. Rosenberg , who sought out a flight attendant because they believed Dr. Rosenberg’s actions and behaviours were of concern. The only report we have of the woman in 9C making contact with Dr. Rosenberg is from herself.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Murray,
While Dr. Rosenberg states he woman in 9C made comments to her, and threatened her, no other passengers onboard saw this or heard this. Those in close proximity to Dr. Rosenberg only reported her actions. These are multiple unrelated people, who were not traveling with the woman in 9C or Dr. Rosenberg.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Nancy,
At the time I wrote this post I had exclusive access to multiple internal crew reports from within Jetblue. To the best of my knowledge while one or two other news outlets may have obtained the final crew report no one else has had access to the initial crew report as well as the final crew report.
Airline crew reports are not released to the public for a variety of reasons.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Emma,
The internal crew reports were read in their entirety and then verified through sources of mine. I have been covering aviation security for more than a decade and this incident, as appalling as it is for a few reasons to me falls under aviation security, wwhich is why I chose to dig into it.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Patrick,
A person you don’t really know called JetBlue and asked what? The airline is not discussing it, all the airline will confirm is that Dr. Rosenberg was removed from the aircraft.
Is your friend an industry journalist who knows where and how to get the information?
Happy Flying!
-Fish
pkbrando,
Two crew reports and multiple passengers on board the aircraft have the same recollection. Maybe minor details differ, but not one of them, including the passengers on board in close proximity to Dr. Rosenberg, saw any interaction from the woman in 9C towards Dr. Rosenberg, certainly they did not see the woman in 9C threaten her as she reported.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
Hey Tzvi if that is your real name please don’t use foul language. Whatever I said is a true. I don’t see how I was airing dirt laundry. Your post makes no sense. U don’t seem offended by the post re zionist trolls. I see I am dealing with a bunch of haters here . Were there not 89 killed in Afganadtin today? 30 people mowed down in a brothel in Iraq??? Go over and help them out to show that u r really a swell guy too
“Were there not 89 killed in Afganadtin today? 30 people mowed down in a brothel in Iraq???”
What has any of that got to do with the topic of this post? (Other than to expose your prejudices). And where is Afganadtin? My geography is pretty good and I’ve never heard of it.
Vicky, you hate Muslims. And everything you write here is based on that. That’s your starting point.
I will not believe any of your comments re. report until officially released by Jet Blue and even then if the flight attendant was not present at the beginning of the altercation how can they comment on this. You do not appear to have any cridentials to prove you have inded seen this report. If you are so sure and are official, give it to the papers or publish on here….no? I thought not!! It will be interesting if they release an official report to hear what witnesses really say and if the Doctor is correct, I would sue, which is probably why they have not released their report!!!!
Jan
You are welcome to believe anything you want. You are also welcome to believe I have repeatedly covered aviation security stories where I have published and written about SSI and Classified government security directives, at times before they were released within the agency or even acknowledged by the agency … you know what is easier than getting a DHS or TSA Classified or SSI document? An Airline internal crew report.
I appreciate your complete lack of ability to even scroll through the blog back a few days where I did just what I described and have been doing for years.
Happy Flying!
-Fish
So Fish?
He said she said.
I will wait for the full story to come out and then of course perhaps someone even took a video of what happened on their cel phone.