They are in for a mess then. They are flying TLV-MAD on ElAl, MAD-JFK on Iberia, JFK-MAD on American Airlines, and MAD-TLV on Elal. They are flying with a group of 18 people and the tickets are already purchased.
One of the children with seizures is very hyper and can't sit still for long, so they thought the layover might be a help.