YWN-Israel recently reported on an incident involving an El Al flight delayed more than one hour allegedly because a group of Chareidi men refused to be seated next to women on a flight from JFK to Ben-Gurion International Airport.
The incident, reported on by news outlets around the world, led to El Al announcing a new policy that any passenger who refuses to take their assigned seats will immediately be removed from the flight.
However, a new report from Israeli media personality Sivan Rahav-Meir paints an entirely different side to the story. On Monday, Rahav-Meir published testimony she received via email from a passenger on the flight, claiming that the flight had already been delayed for reasons entirely unrelated to the Chareidim and their demands.
The passenger, Katriel Shemtov, writes that the passengers had been informed before boarding that the flight, originally scheduled to depart at 6:00PM, would be delayed until 6:45PM. The later time was also written on the screen in the terminal. Shemtov writes the issue was not resolved until “at least 7:10PM, in my opinion.”
“In my estimation,” he continued, “the whole incident with the Chareidim took maybe five minutes, no more. I do not justify their behavior and one may not delay a flight even in one minute. As an ultra-Orthodox person, I have never encountered behavior like theirs. But I am shocked by the media coverage of this story. It sounds so hallucinatory. How is it that no one verified? In addition, this caused international damage to Israel. What is going on here? I hesitated a few days before contacting you, but it was important for me to let them know the truth. I have many other witnesses to the story who were on the plane if necessary”.
Sivan Rahav-Meir reports that she forwarded these claims to El Al, but received the following surprising response: “The details reported on the subject were inaccurate to say the least. In reality, the delay was not related to the event that was publicized. There was a delay in the move of the plane to the takeoff runway of an hour without any connection to the incident.”
“The two passengers who refused to take their seats took place after the plane had already departed from the gate, and it lasted only a few minutes,” thereby corroborating the testimony of Mr. Shemtov.
(Nat Golden – YWN)
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35 Responses
Please don’t confuse me with the facts. my mind’s made up already.
Just to make headline news to make chareidim look bad.
FAKE NEWS. As President Trump made us aware. Everything, just to make a controversy.
ME to! I recall a similar instance that happened around 15- 20 years ago on an Israel bound El Al flight that was delayed, and the announced on the microphone that the delay is because they are waiting for the Glatt kosher meals to arrive, causing me and other chadri passengers to feel uncomfortable , so we went around and all chardim agreed to forgo their meals, but the plane still didn’t move. Someone pointed to the window and we say that the cargo was still being loaded, and they just used the charadim as a scapegoat
again another case of media bias and false reporting. it is getting so that it is not worth reading much in the news since we only get a partial coverage as per the bias of the reporter…..
Nah… it’s still the Chareidim fault…. hence we won’t see any apologizes….
Proof again… that biggest anti-semites are the secular semites….
claaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasic
Moral of the story – don’t believe any news. More often than not, it is distorted based on the journalist’s worldview and then mindlessly copied by many news outlets, especially if they ascribe to the journalist’s agenda. Chareidi bashing is very popular. Why post an unverified story such as this on YWN?
Once again, the ‘mainstream media’ has given us FAKE NEWS!!! How long will we go on believing them, & allowing them to brainwash everyone??? They should really be taken away from their positions – any reporter who doesn’t verify something like this, is not a reporter, period!
This is outrageous. So much talk, accusations of chilul Hashem etc etc.and its all fake news.
Just wondering, does YWN clarify before posting any news? Or just rely on social media sources? Last week YWN staunched this Chareidim, painted them on a very negative way, prompting commentators to write Loshon Horaa,
chymee +1
mazel tov. the mass murderer convicted of 50 murders only did 49. one was fake news. he now deserves a chelek in olam habah, together with all others who agree it was outrageous.
DrYidd
July 10, 2018 10:39 am at 10:39 am
mazel tov. the mass murderer convicted of 50 murders only did 49. one was fake news. he now deserves a chelek in olam habah, together with all others who agree it was outrageous.
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You could not have said it any better. Nice ,short and oh so sweet.
Moral of the story: verify before you vilify. Of course, for those folks who feel the Chareidi tzibbur can never do anything good or be right about anything — well, if they’re not guilty for delaying this plane’s takeoff, they’re guilty of a thousand other things. So, it’s OK to maintain the incessant Chareidi bashing. Because somewhere, some Chareidi person has done something wrong.
After the plane left the gate the guy refused to take his seat? Does that make any sense?
@chymee – Let’s see who the self-hater is, “Chymee”.
“The incident, reported on by news outlets around the world, led to El Al announcing a new policy that any passenger who refuses to take their assigned seats will immediately be removed from the flight.”
So YWN rightfully published a story that was covered by every single news outlet on the globe, quoting them when doing so.
El Al goes and releases a public statement (rightfully published by YWN) telling the world that this behavior will no longer be tolerated.
Now, Johnny come late, ONE person on the flight disputes the claims. Ok. Thanks for the self-hate, chymee.
Ferd, maybe read the full facebook post before jumping to conclusions.
Sivan Rahav-Meir forwarded these claims to ELAL who admitted that the claims were true. Meaning, they knew all along that the story was fake news, yet they ran with it anyway.
Don’t have time to read all the comments but just to pick up on a few: the moral of the story? don’t jump to conclusions, let them say whatever they want – real babyish if you ask me – and you will still get your kosher food. and you will still be able to be frum. you know there are envious people all around us.
moral of the story..no moral. this enternal hate the non believers have for believers is a ‘sine yesodis shein loh temirh’ ohr hachaim hakodosh parshes korach and bechikosay
It’s a derogatory story about Chareidim so don’t expect a real retraction from YWN; just as-a-matter-of- fact news story!
Just wondering…
What did we call it before FAKENEWS?? #MAGA
El Al is run Gestapo-like.
The new El Al policy of dragging off ANY passenger who refuses to take their assigned seat regardless of reason makes sense, even if this particular incident has been exaggerated. Its not clear why El Al has tolerated these incidents for years, whether for some Chareidi who thinks he is entitled to a certain seat or some economy class passenger who wants to take one of the preferred economy seats in the front of the cabin. If you want to be assured of a seat without a woman next to you than pay for an empty seat. If you want the preferred seating pay for it. If not, be prepared to be dragged off the plane to the cheers of your fellow passengers if you don’t take your assigned seat. If yo want to be truly machmir, than start your own male-only airline (or put wings on the Monsey busees) .
Another reason NOT to fly El Al
as a so called chareidi myself,whenever i have the occasion of flying EL AL i am absolutely horrified and embarrased by the behaviour of some of the frum passengers (and we all know what we are refering to) , yes” there is a lot of chareidi bashing by the secular media but some of it is deserving we have broght it on ourselves
actually, the chareidim have themselves partially to blame. They’ve done this routine so many verifiable times before, that it made this incident believable. I’ve been on flights when it’s happened.
An Austrian Airlines pilot was happy to oblige a chareidi passenger, by coming out of the cockpit, to assist the chareidi passenger find a kosher seat…. yes Austria the birthplace of Nazism.
ELAL, the official airline of the So called “Jewish” state, will throw off any chareidi passenger trying to change his seat
Herzel must be very proud… not only did he achieve his goal of converting millions of Yidden into Goyim, they are even much worse than the Goyim, as the secular Israelis hate the Chareidim way more then a typical
The moral of this is BE DAN lekaf Zechus for a G-d fearful yid.
Joseph, please explain and document your comment
katan hatorah
you comment is in sinc with all your sonai hadass postings…
with what do you consider yourself as a shomer torah?
Shimenlah:
Please advise where chazal bring down that some self-annointed chashuve yid is entitled to delay 200+ other yidden debating with flight attendants over seating on an airplane. This has ZERO to do with daas torah or halacha and everything to do with common sense, which you consistently acknowledge is lacking in your postings. If you want a special seat or private seating, than pay for it. It is mamash ganavah to insist on being granted special seating or forcing unwilling passengers to change their reserved seats because of your preferences. The article is clear that in this case there was no delay due to the seating issues but there have been numerous other cases where there have been such delays, due to either not wanting to sit next to a woman or other unrelated matters. All this policy does is to follow the practice of every other airline: sit down in your assigned seat or get off the plane. Not too complicated, even for you.
mogold
July 11, 2018 7:36 am at 7:36 am
An Austrian Airlines pilot was happy to oblige a chareidi passenger, by coming out of the cockpit, to assist the chareidi passenger find a kosher seat…. yes Austria the birthplace of Nazism.
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How do u know that the pilot himself was austrian?
Maybe he was israeli,britsh, or American?. Ot maybe he was a closet charedi.
What does austria as we know it today have to do with being anti charedi?
There are more people who are anti charedi in the charedi circles then in an austrian airplane.
mogold, re: The Austrian airline…
You didn’t finish the story. Because of the delay, some passengers were inconvenienced in that they missed their connecting flight.
I’ve flown ElAL, and was embarrassed by the
a) Shachris minyans near the lavatory spaces, near the galley, and inconveniencing passengers and flight crew trying to serve meals. Never heard any complaint from crew/passengers but could tell they were annoyed… “Excuse me, excuse me..”
b) Equally embarrassed as plane landed and taxied. Several Chareidi people stood up to remove bin luggage despite warnings to sit till full stop… despite further entreaties by crew to sit down but who were ignored.
Is the Queen Mary still around? Please book separate berths, then use long walkways to daven or whatever..
A Joseph gem : “… El Al is run Gestapo-like…”
Really ??!!!.
What would your Rav Miller say to this?
Shame..!!!
My grandparents and families faced the Gestapo..
So crude, vile, disgusting..
RighteousJudgement
July 11, 2018 8:06 am at 8:06 am
The moral of this is BE DAN lekaf Zechus for a G-d fearful yid.
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Who is the decider of who is a “gd fearful yid?
Are u the decider? Am i the decider? Is only a charedi from the peleg factor a decider? Or each person can decide on the own?