The Lawfare Project announced today that it has joined with Held & Hines LLP and Deborah J. Blum Esq. in their lawsuit against US Coachways, Inc. for its failure to transport Jewish and Israeli passengers from across the United States to the Nov. 14 “March for Israel” in Washington, D.C.
Held & Hines filed the initial complaint in Federal Court in the Southern District of New York on Dec. 11 and filed an amended complaint on April 25.
Last year, individuals who wanted to attend the historic rally in Washington registered with the Israeli-American Council (IAC) to be transported by bus with US Coachways. After waiting more than 90 minutes at the designated pick-up locations, passengers were told that the buses were not arriving as they were contracted to.
“As demonstrators share pro-Hamas messages at college campuses, calling for the destruction of Israel, it is more important than ever to ensure the Jewish community and our allies have equal protection under the law and that our rights to free speech and assembly are protected,” said Brooke Goldstein, founder and executive director of the Lawfare Project. “We will look forward to working with Held & Hines and Deborah J. Blum Esq. to ensure justice is awarded to those who did not have the opportunity to attend the rally.”
Media reports indicated that many bus drivers with US Coachways used social media and private group chats to band together to intentionally not take Jewish passengers to the rally.
In a joint letter to the court on March 18, defense counsel stated that US Coachways arranged for 80 buses and “over 75% were transported without incident.” The defense has admitted to a 25% failure rate to transport passengers, which is shockingly high and thereby, acknowledging pervasive discrimination by the bus drivers.
“I am proud to work with the Lawfare Project, which has a proven track record of ensuring justice for the Jewish community,” stated Blum. “Instead of making their way to a historic rally, many individuals missed out on an unprecedented moment because they did not have transportation. US Coachways was on notice of their drivers’ prior discriminatory conduct and did not take adequate steps to ensure that it would not happen again, like it did here.”
For more information about the Lawfare Project, visit their website or contact James Lambert, vice president at Rubenstein Public Relations, at: jlambert@rubnesteinpr.com (212-805-3024).
