Jewish couple sue American for removing them after they refused to put bag containing prayer shawl on floor

Couple says they were booted for refusing to put Jewish items on floor.

An elderly Jewish couple claim they were removed off an American Airlines aircraft and left stranded in Miami ahead of a hurricane, after refusing to put a bag containing a prayer book and shawl on the floor.

They are now suing the airline for an unspecified amount for illegal and discriminatory conduct.

Roberto and Elana Birman, a couple in their 70s, say as the plane was preparing to take off, a flight attendant began to look inside the overhead luggage compartments.

The crew member removed the couple’s clear plastic bag from one of the storage units and asked who it belonged to.

When the pair indicated it was theirs, the attendant allegedly threw the bag, which contained a prayer book and shawl, on Roberto’s lap, telling him it had to go under his seat.

Roberto claims he told the American Airlines staff member that, as a Jew, he could not put the shawl on the floor, explaining, “It’s a religious item, it cannot go under the seat.”

The couple alleges that the flight attendant began to scream and point her finger at them.

“I couldn’t believe this was happening to me in America,” Roberto told the New York Post.

“Nobody said a word. Nobody defended us,” Elana said. “What are we, criminals?”

Roberto says the pilot came to the cabin but did not speak to them, and that eventually, a ground crew member arrived and told them to leave the plane.

“My clients were ejected from the flight based on the prejudices and complete lack of sensitivity of American Airlines employees for reasons wholly unrelated to security,” said their lawyer, Brad Gerstman.

“The flight attendant and pilot’s conduct was as offensive as it was illogical.”

American Airlines is reviewing the lawsuit, according to a spokesperson.