On July 23, 2025, a disturbing incident unfolded at Valencia's Manises Airport, where more than 50 French Jewish teenagers were forcibly removed from a Vueling Airlines flight bound for Paris. The group, aged between 10 and 15, were participants in the Kineret Club summer program organized by the Matana Association, returning from a week-long camp in Sant Carles de la Ràpita, a coastal town between Valencia and Barcelona.
According to multiple eyewitness accounts and footage circulating on social media, the teenagers had been singing Hebrew songs aboard the plane. Flight attendants reportedly instructed them to stop, warning they might call the police. Despite ceasing the singing, Spanish civil guard officers boarded the aircraft, arrested a 21-year-old youth leader—a staff member of the Kineret Club—and ordered all 52 youths to disembark. The video shows the young woman being violently forced to the ground and handcuffed, a scene that has since sparked outrage.
Karine Lamy, a parent of one of the teens, described the episode as “senseless and deeply distressing,” emphasizing, “The children did nothing wrong. They were simply singing in Hebrew. That was enough to turn them into targets.” This sentiment echoes the concerns of many who see this event as emblematic of a broader, troubling trend.
Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, condemned the incident as “one of the most severe antisemitic incidents seen recently.” He accused Vueling Airlines and Spanish authorities of discrimination, highlighting the fact that the children were removed after singing in Hebrew and alleging that Vueling staff had declared Israel a “terrorist state,” though no evidence has been publicly presented to support this claim.
On the other hand, Vueling Airlines issued a firm denial of any antisemitic motivation behind their actions. In a statement released on July 24, 2025, the airline asserted that the passengers were removed due to “highly disruptive behaviour” that endangered the safety of the flight. They claimed minors repeatedly tampered with emergency equipment and interrupted the crew’s safety demonstration, adopting “a very confrontational attitude.” The airline stressed, “We categorically deny any suggestion that our crew’s behaviour was related to the religion of the passengers involved.”
Spain's Civil Guard corroborated elements of Vueling’s version, confirming that the minors and adults removed were French nationals and that the officers involved were unaware of the group’s religious affiliation at the time of the intervention. A spokesperson explained that the captain ordered the removal after the group repeatedly ignored crew instructions, posing a safety threat.
However, the Kineret Club strongly disputes these claims. In a statement signed by their lawyer Julie Jacob, the club insisted that the children were seated, respectful, and posed no disturbance to public order or flight safety. They described the captain’s order to remove the group as “without a valid explanation,” and argued that “the use of a few words in Hebrew was clearly enough to trigger an extremely serious, collective, humiliating, and discriminatory measure.” The club also announced plans to file a formal complaint and legal action against Vueling Airlines.
The situation worsened after the removal, as some students were reportedly left stranded at Valencia Airport for hours without proper care, escort, accommodation, or food. The Civil Guard later reported that 23 minors and two adults boarded a flight with another airline, while the remainder spent the night in a hotel, with arrangements underway for their departure on July 24.
Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), described the incident as “a shocking act of antisemitic discrimination” and an alarming escalation amid a surge of antisemitic events across Europe. He noted that since October 7, there has been an unprecedented wave of antisemitic incidents, with hundreds of percent increases in hate-related events.
Supporting this concern, the Observatory Against Antisemitism in Spain published its 2024 report documenting 193 antisemitic incidents—a 321% increase from 2023 and a staggering 567% rise compared to 2022. Most of these incidents are linked to hostility surrounding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The Federation for Jewish Communities of Spain also weighed in, expressing unease about the conflicting narratives. On July 24, 2025, the group called on Vueling to provide documentary evidence clarifying the cause of the incident, emphasizing the need to determine if any religiously discriminatory motives were involved. “The various accounts circulating on social media and in the media to which we have had access do not clarify the cause of the incident,” the federation stated.
The incident has ignited a broader debate about the safety and security of Jewish communities in Europe. Many officials and advocacy groups stress the urgency for governments and public institutions to recognize the severity of the situation and take decisive action to protect minority communities from discrimination and violence.
Meanwhile, the contrasting accounts from Vueling Airlines and the Kineret Club, combined with the dramatic footage of the youth leader’s arrest, have left many questioning the transparency and fairness of the airline’s handling of the event. The airline’s insistence on safety concerns clashes sharply with the testimonies of the passengers and their families, who see the episode as a blatant act of antisemitism.
As investigations continue, the incident stands as a stark reminder of the tensions and challenges facing minority groups in public spaces, even in routine activities like air travel. It also highlights the delicate balance airlines and authorities must maintain between enforcing safety protocols and respecting passengers’ rights and dignity.
The Kineret Club’s lawyer has promised legal proceedings, and pressure is mounting on Vueling and Spanish authorities to provide full transparency. For now, the French Jewish teenagers and their families are left to grapple with the trauma of an experience that should have been a simple journey home but instead became a flashpoint in Europe’s escalating struggle with antisemitism.
