On Wednesday I wrote about a group of 50 Jewish kids being kicked off a flight, with their camp directly violently arrested. At the time the reports were the disruptiveness of the group was that some of them were singing in Hebrew, and they were collectively punished for it.
Vueling staff reportedly called Israel a “terrorist state” and didn’t want Hebrew
The woman who was arrested and beaten is the director of the Kinneret summer camp.
Fifty Jewish French children, aged 10 – 15, were singing Hebrew songs on the plane.
The @vueling airline crew said that Israel is a terrorist state and forced the children off the aircraft; they… https://t.co/V78PEHB58B pic.twitter.com/HizF6SZoaD
— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) July 23, 2025
I added video shortly afterward in an update to the post from the group being told by their remaining leader that they needed to make it home to France, so everyone was to hide all symbols of their Jewishness. They certainly believed that’s why they’d been removed.
“We’re not going to give these antisemites the opportunity to kick us off the plane”
A counselor for the Kinneret Club teens who were kicked off a Vuelling flight for singing a Hebrew song explains why they now need to hide their kipot and tzitzit on the plane to avoid any… pic.twitter.com/TQyoylSNYp
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) July 24, 2025
Vueling, which is owned by British Airways parent IAG, first said that the group was disruptive during the safety demonstration, and to prove they were bad apples said they continued to be ‘aggressive’ once kicked off the plane, which is why their group leader was arrested.
Vueling statement regarding the passengers disembarked for disruptive behaviour on flight VY8166 pic.twitter.com/WQ2255Ujqy
— Vueling Airlines (@vueling) July 24, 2025
Then the story shifts to a focus on onboard safety equipment.
Update – Vueling statement regarding the passengers disembarked for disruptive behaviour on flight VY8166 pic.twitter.com/BOmkmFpJp4
— Vueling Airlines (@vueling) July 25, 2025
What’s interesting is that we haven’t seen any video of misbehavior of the kids onboard. Here’s the story from one passenger who watched things go down,
I was coming back from Valencia with my daughter and no one on the plane understood what was happening because the group entered the plane normally, without screaming, which is normal for teens. I insist they were carrying themselves well for teenagers. And during the security instructions, they called the police. Because they said there was a security problem on the plane. Finally, they disembarked us. Two and half hours late for nothing. I want to say those kids were polite and left the plane calmly.
There were early reports that the group was singing – and so many were sympathetic with severe penalties for annoying others! – but that may not have been the case. Their version of the story is that one kid spoke Hebrew too loudly and the group of 52 was kicked off.
One kid said a single word in Hebrew — not a song, not a chant, just one word, a little too loud.
That’s all it took for the airline staff to assume they were Israeli and call the police.
How many times have we heard loud passengers on planes? How many times did that lead to… pic.twitter.com/xeyJwNenVr
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) July 24, 2025
As a sidenote to the story, there are reports that the pilot who made the decision to kick them off was Iván Chirivella. Twenty five years ago he was a flight instructor at Jones Aviation in Florida, where he taught 9/11 hijackers Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi in September and October 2000. Vueling appears to lend credence to the report.
However the implication is that he’s a terrorism supporter. (And others note, correctly, that IAG’s largest shareholder is Qatar.) In fact Chirivella expelled Atta and al-Shehhi for misconduct, as confirmed in FBI interviews, by the 9/11 Commission report, and as he shared in his book Innocent Accomplice.
The flag in the cockpit appears to me to come from a different aircraft than the one that flew these passengers. However this story – initially about disruptive singing, and about disrupting safety demonstrations – first in how the story was relayed informally and then in official statements, doesn’t appear to be quite what has been claimed.
Update: Oy.
This is Spain’s Minister of Transportation referring to the FRENCH Jewish kids from the Vueling flight as “Israelis”…!
Despicably, he asks Spanish “patriots” if they will stand with Vueling vs the “Israeli kids.”
H/t @RabbiPoupko https://t.co/a2ORz54YP4
— Tali Goldsheft (@TaliGoldsheft) July 25, 2025
An absolute an unacceptable outrage. Spain is simply outside of the norms of the community of descent states and has become subsumed – again – in violent fascist ideology to regress back to the mean of its history for the past ~600 years. Spain should be ejected from the US Visa Waiver Program immediately so that Spanish racists like this can’t freely enter the United States.
Very well written and documented article. Obviously the crew wanted to throw these kids off the plane. And the Spanish police were obliging.. hopefully the group can sue IAG for a huge amount of money.. anyway I hope all gets around so that people stop flying Vueling.
At first I was very cautious about the claims of racism, but as more independent witnesses have emerged, the official Vueling story is falling apart. I’m now struggling to find *anyone* independent (i.e. any of the other passengers not involved) who can support the official story.
It’s all really starting to stink of antisemitism isn’t it?
Thank you for continuing to follow up. Unless an Orthodox Rabbi told them to do this, I absolutely disagree removing any visible signs of Judaism. Everything that happens is from G-d and I’m pretty sure that His intention in making this all happen was not to make us hide our religion. The only time that is allowed is if our lives are in danger, which was not the case here.
@Mak: Let me guess where you stand politically If you would like to see Fascist ideology in action just look at the move in US politics. The saying goes: the pot calling the kettle black.
I don’t trust the kids’ and the counselor’s claims. I don’t trust the FA’s claims. This is in the same way a police officer doesn’t trust either side in a “who started the bar fight?” situation. I don’t trust the third party’s claims. Witnesses can be unreliable, particularly, as in this case, they weren’t really paying attention. As happens in such cases, I think we’ll never know.
I really wish we could know. If the kids were booted because of religious bias, the FA (and pilot, if applicable) deserve the downpour of disdain that should go with this. If the kids were misbehaving and the counselor knows so, but reports the religious hatred spin, the counselor deserves our wrath. In my view of hell, there is a section reserved for two groups to share: those who spread racial/religious/etc. hate and those who accuse another of such behavior knowing it is not true. It would be fun knowing a KKK leader and Al Sharpton are sharing a segment of hell.
Naz Hashem at it again as is usual, but what else can be expected from MAGA Lord worshippers with a love for extremist violence.
@Ray I’m sorry for not being an uneducated, provincial, and above all privileged American who is ignorant of 600 years of Spanish fascism so that Donald Trump is the worst thing they can possibly get their mind to imagine. Spain is a country that has been absolutely subsumed by blood and soil racism since Ferdinand II straight through to Franco and now it’s smoldering dregs are reigniting. It’s funny how ignorant and usually immature American children are sure that Columbus was a fascist without recognizing who sent him. Spain has been an outlaw colonial nation that has committed mass murder of its own citizens and is built on the bones of its colonial occupations. Barcelona and San Sebastian are Spanish the same way that Manchuria was Japanese and East Timur was Indonesian.
This is why there should be cameras in planes. in the cockpit and on Pax. He said she said does not work. On many Public bus’s they are there on School Bus they are there.
protects the PAX the FA and the a airline from He said she said.
For those who do not like it WALK or take y our own Vehicle
Vueling Airline would make old Adolf proud.
@Josh has the right take here. There should be financial penalties for such discrimination; that is the best ‘deterrent’ at this point. Sue, likely settle, and be a warning to not mistreat any passengers in this way again.
@Mak’s take is too extreme; we shouldn’t blame the entire country for the bad acts of a few (isn’t that kinda the prejudice the crew/police acted on here to begin with; let’s not be hypocritical in an overreaction.)
Simple question . Was the flight a chartered school bus with wings or public transport?
If it wasn’t chartered then maybe, just maybe, the group leader should have had some respect for the other passengers and told the kids singing was not acceptable.
But then again ,respect and consideration for others, is now an outdated concept.
I do call BS on this (in Vueling’s 2nd statement):
“…were tampering with safetay equipment….including releasing life jackets, tampering with oxygen masks….”
And apparently, after they did all this – the crew still continued with their safety demonstration (which was “again interrupted by the group”)
Sounds BS
Most likely there was / were one or two antisemites in the flight crew, and they made sure to escalate matters (as we’ve all seen how FA’s do sometimes on power trips), and got them kicked out.
No one looking great in this story.
Playing with safety equipment and disrupting the safety briefing is more objective than subjective case for bringing in authorities than singing.
Still don’t know what the source or facts are on crew bringing up Israel or religion. That would turn a legitimate case for offboarding into something more.
@tomri — I thInk about this every once in a while, I wouldn’t mind personally. Would clear a lot up in this case
@1990 @Josh – Yep, hit em where it hurts
@GUWonder —Welcome back! Haven’t seen you around much since Gary shouted you out in a Roundup, thought maybe you got too big for us
@Mak. Again, you love to hear yourself pontificate but you know nothing. You have no idea about Spain today. History isn’t an indication of how the people are now. Go back to your t-rump beliefs and feel superior as the rest of the world continues to laugh at the s**thole the US has become.
I’m amazed at the hypocrisy, their is a gencide happening in Gaza and because a few Jewish passengers were kicked off the plane we post it. Why not post what’s happening in Gaza.
I think you mean Sept and Oct 2000 (not 2020)
@MAC (not to be confused with @Mak) — VFTW is focused on the travel industry, and aviation in-particular; this incident is very much relevant here. Don’t take it from me; Gary can defend his own blog.
However, the government of Israel’s actions (or omissions), whether you agree or disagree with their handling of October 7th or its aftermath, should not be a ‘weapon’ used to discriminate against any Jewish people around the world, much less any Arabs, Muslims, or any other groups of people.
So, like the flight crew, you are wrongly transposing your concern for an unrelated thing onto people who do not have control over that situation. Perhaps, those passengers are just as concerned as you are about how you perceive things.
France, after all, just officially recognized Palestine. Again, not saying that’s right or wrong, but I’d bet there are plenty of French people who agree and disagree with that stance; yet, it shouldn’t affect their ability to fly.
For comparison, while I am not in-favor of what Putin’s government is doing in its unjust war of choice in Ukraine, I cannot rationally blame any and all Russian people around the world.
And in certain parts of the world, like Istanbul, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Thailand, I’ve interacted with ample Russians who are just ‘people’ living their lives, not murderous villains.
Likewise, if people around the world treated Americans with guilt and shame for any and all of the things done by our government, we’d not be able to travel anywhere either.
I am well-aware of the paradox of tolerance, but these kids did not deserve to be mistreated and targeted in this way. Unless there is a real reason not to, please just let folks fly.
@1990. Very nice closing statement for this discussion.
Just so I understand this, a 25 year veteran pilot has either never had a Jewish person on one of his flights or has never kicked another Jewish person off one of his flights for being Jewish before just decided out of the blue to kick off 50 Jewish people who were doing absolutely nothing wrong. Is that what we are supposed to believe here?
I’ve got to tell you that, while I agree the original attack on Israel was horrible, the reaction and ongoing torment of people in Gaza is even worse. I’m someone that has always been a supporter of Israel but Bibi is making that hard. Bombing and starving innocent civilians isn’t the way a civilized country should act.
BTW Gary I know you are Jewish but how about cutting out all the articles that are so one sided. Your blog isn’t the place to spread your political views unless you want a lot of people, including me, to unsubscribe.
If the “problematic” singing was not in the plane, then maybe it was in the terminal building. The police typically don’t want a disturbance in the terminal and the group’s accompanying woman detained and removed in cuffs was said to be non-cooperative.
Was the detained woman on the ground a French IDF veteran volunteering/working in Europe for the summer?
@AC — I share your sentiments on the nuance of internal Israeli politics; but, I differ on your recommendation to Gary. It’s his website; he can post whatever he wants; he can delete or ban any of us, myself included, even on a whim. Yet, unlike many of the other blogs, VFTW welcomes free expression, without much if any micromanaging in the comments; it’s actually a rare example of the ideals of the First Amendment (in the USA). Sure, there’s gonna be some folks who take things too far, say outrageous things, and are purposely offensive. And I think it’s courageous and healthy to host that. Gary’s also regularly responsive to us. Contrast this to the shills at TPG, who gave up on their comments section. So, I say, keep it going, Gary! 20+ years, you’ve still got it!
@GUWonder “Was the detained woman on the ground a French IDF veteran volunteering/working in Europe for the summer?”
Was the pilot who ejected the Jewish children from his plane for being Jewish a flight instructor of two 9/11 terrorists who flew an airplane into the World Trade Center?
The first statement is pure supposition based upon your base racial prejudices.
The second statement is – strangely – fact.
@AC By using what Jews in Israel are doing (or not doing) as a basis for overt expressions of racial animus for French Jews in Spain, you are are engaging in the most basic antisemitic collective libel. This is akin to justifying hatred against black people because you know somebody who was once robbed by a black person. Liberal attitudes demand that we treat everybody on their own merit, not on those of the same religion, skin color, sexual preference, etc.
Thank you, @Mak. Well said. This is the way. (Again, not to be confused with @MAC, who was unhinged above.)
Mak, as usual for MAGAt, seems to have a problem with a question being asked and so tries to distract from the question instead of sticking to the fact that he doesn’t know the answer. But non-answer responses are typical of 45 &47-fans.
So now back to a question:
“Was the detained woman on the ground a French IDF veteran volunteering/working in Europe for the summer?”
Someone really should let the word out that these kids are neither Israeli nor Israel. If you have a beef with the Israeli government then don’t take it out on French kids.