Just days after news reports of an El Al flight delayed for more than an hour after four Chareidim refused to take their assigned seats next to women, the airline has taken some bold action.
El Al Chairman Gonen Ussishkin announced on Monday, that any passengers refusing to sit next to other passengers will be immediately removed from the aircraft.
El Al’s response came just after Barak Eilam, the CEO of NICE Systems (a major Israeli tech company) announced Monday that his company would be boycotting El Al.
Eilam wrote on Twitter “at NICE we don’t do business with companies that discriminate against race, gender or religion.”
“NICE will not fly with El Al until they change their practice and actions that are discriminating against women,” Eilam added.
Chareidi men are known to frequently roam the aisles on El Al flights before takeoff, looking to exchange seats. Usually it is to avoid seating beside women or passengers who may use the in-flight entertainment system, or to make it easier to put together a Minyan for Davening during the flight.
However, it appears this practice will no longer be tolerated by Israel’s national airline.
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33 Responses
Eilam wrote on Twitter “at NICE we don’t do business with companies that discriminate against race, gender or religion”
Can someone please explain this statement? Isn’t this a discrimination of religion of the first degree ???
I have flown countless times with El Al, unless you’re not in business class or first class you are not sitting next to someone you might be sitting on someone or someone might be sitting on you, very uncomfortable situation, please don’t judge these people are good people !
You had better assign seats BEFORE the flight.
Frum women do not see it as discrimination, because they believe in separate seating too, so there is no discrimination.
Reshoim haters of kedusha.
Just curious! Will the irreligeous also gets bounced off if they object to being seated next to the orthodox? Abe Foxman made a highly insensitive comment years ago about the orthodox, would he have been forced to sit next to an orthodox Jew, his nemesis!! OR, if I may speculate, this is just a one-sided position! A,haa! It’s only anti-Semitism when it’s a goy onto a Yid or the self hating Jew onto other types of Jews!
Good. There’s only one type of Jew that does this.
It’s about time.
It’s not discrimination it’s just bad middos. Causing a ruckus delaying the flight inconveniencing hundreds of people for your frumkeit is krum not frum. You can nicely and respectfully ask someone to switch seats with you otherwise this is the nisayon hashem gave you it’s your job to pass it.
Yasher koach to El Al. These birds have to learn that they cannot inconvenience others with their chumrot. If they want a chumra how about not leaving EY? In fact, many poskim prohibit it just to go on a vacation.
K, “on” you? You win today’s fake news award. So why not pay for business or first class to keep your chumra? In fact, if you think it’s the halacha you have to give up everything not to violate it.
If the frum community abandons El Al they will be out of business in one week. Do not take their threats just go elsewhere.
yapchick, but noone else but chareidim hold up flights so your statement is absurd
@hershh ****NEWSFLASH — IDIOT ALERT****
The Frum community won’t abandon El Al.
Know why? Because the extremist wack-job element of the Frum Community that fly El Al and that refuse to take their assigned seats and have no issue holding up a plane with 400 people for two hours is less than .01 percent of the “frum business”.
Let these animals fly another airline.
Oh wait…. you mean United and Delta will throw these Chayos off the plane – as they already do?
So they will take a boat or swim the Atlantic.
Oh wait – you mean it’s too far to swim?
GOOD – Eretz Yisreol will be free of these burka-wearing, wife-beating, woman-spitting, Gedolim-bashing, Peleg-affiliating behamos.
GREAT NEWS! Thanks El Al!
PS: They can always fly Air Egypt, or Air Saudi. They are very tolerant.
hershh, they fly El Al because other airlines would never tolerate the nonsense
If a person asks politely if he can change seats it’s perfectly within his rights. If he refuses to take his seat then he should be removed from the plane. But there is no doubt in my mind that if it was a person not dressed in black Mr eilam would not have gone to the trouble of posting on Twitter!
1. One can make reservations that include specific seats, and coordinate with others to control whom one sits next to.
2. When you want to fly cheap, you expect to give up something.
3. If someone refuses to sit next to an Orthodox Jew, the airline would also kick them off.
About time!
We close our eyes or look to the side when making “asher bochar bonu” when we get an aliyah.
Why?
Because people may think the brachos are printed in the Torah.
Why not roll the Torah closed and make the bracha?
Tircha d’tzibura!!
Chazal wnted to prevent a second of tircha dtzibura (multiplied by the people in the minyan) surely holding up a plane of 400 people.
I advice that the chariedim should stop using el al. Watch how quick they will change this rule.
Maybe it’s time El Al implemented separate seating sections on their flights
Good
Velvel said:
…. But there is no doubt in my mind that if it was a person not dressed in black Mr eilam would not have gone to the trouble of posting on Twitter.
—————————–
And there is no doubt in anyones mind that you are passing judgment on someone you never met,or spoke to.
Your stam hocking a chynik and making up stories.
why dont they set aside 3 rows of seats near the back as “mehadrin seating” and if someone wants it, they should request it in advance. lets see what the demand really is for such seating is on a consistent basis.
Separate seating is an interesting idea, but then it could get to a point that it would feel as if there’s an Ezras Nashim right by you, and it would be uncomfortable to walk by. Imagine trying to use the lavatory being surrounded by 40 women. If that arrangement goes into effect there will be a request for a mechitza.
Let’s get realistic – EL Al is never ever going to institute separate seating, so even mentioning the idea is just ridiculous.
to akuperma, flying El Al is not cheap. There are always cheaper options, almost all of them involving a stop somewhere along the way. These chareidim are not flying El Al to save money.
Righteousjudgement, there is no kedusha in creating a chillul Hashem. Surely you must have learned that somewhere in yeshiva.
I would anytime give up my seat so a Erlicha yungerman does not want to sit next to a lady! Yes!!
Why are you making it so wrong that a person does not want to me muchshal???
By the way – I traveled MANY airlines – and ONLY ELAL is so not accommodating….. Jewish Airline huh??
Why such hate????
There might be a solution to this problem, but it will take some careful thought and some intermediate mathematics. That might not be part of the Chareidi yeshiva curriculum. If the separate-seating separate-seating-on-airplanes Chareidim want someone else to figure out a workable solution, they are kidding themselves. They should figure it out and propose it to the folks at El Al, who, I am guessing, would rather solve a problem than fight a battle. Of course, there are probably some s-s-o-a Chareidim who would prefer a fight to a solution.
Just create a mehadrin airlines and problem solved.
Women enter the rear of the plane and men enter the front ,just like the mehadrin busses.
It’s intriguing that people are so hard on those who refuse to give up their seats. It makes sense why someone would want a specific seat for a 13 hour flight. People have different air sicknesses and the like. There are times where families would like to sit together and it’s not taken for granted that other people will be so willing to move. Some people just have to recognize and be aware that they are not the only people in the world. It’s not being rude and anti-semetic to not wish to give up your chair.
Another quistion is how far do we draw the line of tircha dizubur. Is there ever a level to say that it would be the right thing to do to hold up a plane for 2 hours. People may be unhappy about it, but any time someone gets sick and holds up the plane that seems very understandable. However frumkeit related things, I don’t kno? An airline would not allow a full out uncovered lady. But a lady dressed in her bathing suit siting next to a man who is uncomfortable is that room to put up a fight?
It’s frustrating that people cry wolf for anti-semitisim and racism on times were it’s not, it takes away from the real moments!
War,
“I would anytime give up my seat so a Erlicha yungerman does not want to sit next to a lady! Yes!!”
While, its perfectly well to be nizhar and request politely – BUT there is MAJOR difference by ultimately ‘refusing’ to sit and create a scene. I sure hope you understand the diff. If that Yungerman is sooo erlich he would buy three seats or arrange it with other charedi travelers and, if not — stay home. Period. That is part of being emes erlich.
Do not expect anyone to be mechyov to accommodate your religious beliefs.
People like these ruin it for ALL charedim, now “asking politely” will be an issue as well – thanks to these Taliban extremists!
If he were super-erlich he would not leave Eretz Yisrael.
Sorry, If i was sitting with my wife, I would not want her to get up so some other person will sit next to me. It is inconsiderate for anyone to think that one should get up.
I would even go as so far to say it is genaiva. I paid for a seat and now someone came along and forced me to switch my seat, even though I did not want too.
Cmon, most of the time it’s just a nice guy that asks nicely and it gets worked out in 4 minutes. Was on a flight on way to israel at beginning of the zman that was packed with boys and girls going after the holidays and it was easily worked on for many people that asked nicely to see if we can work it out. Looked like candy crush. I agree, it’s the random fanatic low IQ people that ruin it for everyone else.
When smoking was permitted on airplanes, a few rows at the back would be designated as the “smoking section”. The number of rows in the section was easily adjusted according to the number of passengers who requested to be in the section.
Why can’t an arrangement like this be used to deal with the current situation?
Disgusting discrimination, El Al should retract this. If they don’t they will be sued and lose a large customer base and be thrown out of business. Big chutzpah of them. Respect the religious feelings of your customers. Some “Jewish airline” this is…
Finally, if it is so important then go on another flight. the entire plane does not wait for your kedusha. show how important it is by really sacrificing and going on a different flight.
it is absurd that they put up with it at all. everyone time is not wasted because of some lunatic
Chatzkal, we both are shomer Torah v’mitzvos Jews. Many who travel on ElAl are not. Respect should work both ways.