26 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2019 

STEFANI CHUDNOW SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Jews in the D

S

ome people, you can 
tell, were put on this 
Earth for a specific rea-
son. Farmington Hills native 
Benjamin Ryberg is one of these 
people. 
After graduating from the 
University of Michigan, Ryberg 
attended Cardozo Law School 
at Yeshiva University and was 
then invited to join the Lawfare 
Project. As an attorney and 
the chief operating officer at 
this New York-based nonprof-
it think tank and litigation 

fund, Ryberg and his team 
aim to protect and uphold the 
rights of Jewish and pro-Israel 
communities worldwide. The 
Lawfare Project has more than 
400 attorneys worldwide who 
are ready to take on cases at any 
given moment. 
“Unfortunately, our commu-
nity is facing a lot of problems. 
But there’
s a lot that can be 
done about it using existing 
laws and legal systems, and 
that’
s what we’
re here to do,” 
Ryberg said. “Because of the 

network we’
ve built, we’
re able 
to operate on a global scale. We 
are vigorously confronting the 
most pressing problems facing 
the Jewish people wherever they 
arise.” 

DISCRIMINATION AT 
KUWAIT AIRWAYS
Recently, the Lawfare Project 
took on two major cases. 
The first was against Kuwait 
Airways, which refuses to allow 
Israeli passport holders to fly 
with them despite being sued 

by the Lawfare Project several 
times. 
“We were shocked to learn 
of this because Kuwait Airways 
has been operating at JFK 
for decades,” Ryberg said. 
“Somehow, this flagrant dis-
crimination has been left to 
continue for years. Our goal 
is to force Kuwait Airways to 
discontinue its discriminatory 
practice or to fly anybody with 
a valid travel document and not 
subject Israelis to disparate treat-
ment. Alternatively, if the airline 
continues to deny transport to 
Israelis, the Lawfare Project will 
keep suing them, and they will 
have to pay.” 
After conducting extensive 
legal analysis and communicat-
ing with the U.S. Department 
of Transportation, which ini-
tially sided with the airline, the 
Lawfare Project prompted the 
department to reverse course 
and release a new determination 
saying that Kuwait Airways 
was violating federal aviation 
law. While a positive step, the 
Lawfare Project wanted to 
ensure that the airline adhered 
to the determination and oper-
ated in compliance with the law.
Unfortunately, that wasn’
t the 
case. Ryberg and a colleague 
accompanied an Israeli woman 
to JFK airport to purchase a 
ticket on Kuwait Airways’
 pop-
ular flight route from JFK to 
London Heathrow. At the ticket 
counter, they were informed 
that this route had been indef-
initely suspended. Essentially, 
the airline chose to continue 
discriminating and lose signifi-
cant revenue rather than allow 
Israeli passengers to fly with 
their airline.
The Lawfare Project subse-
quently filed suit against the 
airline in Switzerland, resulting 
in the stoppage of all Kuwait 
Airways’
 inter-European flights 
(which continues to this day). 
Several other lawsuits are pend-
ing in Germany and elsewhere.
“There is no place for dis-
crimination against anybody 

s in the D

Upholding the Law

New York-based nonprofi
 t protects Jewish rights worldwide.

CO

UR

TE

SY OF

 BEN

J

A

MI

N R

YBERG

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