BREAKING: The Lawfare Project and Deborah J. Blum, Esq. join Held & Hines LLP in lawsuit against US Coachways for failure to transport Jewish passengers

The Lawfare Project has joined the law firm Held & Hines LLP and Deborah J. Blum, Esq. in a lawsuit against UC Coachways, Inc. for their failure to transport Jewish and Israeli passengers from across the United States to The March for Israel in Washington D.C. on November 14, 2023. Held & Hines filed the initial complaint in Federal Court in the Southern District of New York on December 11, 2023, and filed an amended complaint on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

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 one and a half hours at the designated pick-up locations, passengers were told that the buses were not arriving as they were contracted to do.

"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 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, 2024, defense counsel stated that US Coachways arranged for 80 buses and "over 75 percent were transported without incident." The defense has admitted to a 25 percent failure rate to transport passengers, which is shockingly high and therefore acknowledges 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," said attorney Deborah J. 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."