Israeli airline El Al is facing new allegations of discrimination after moving two female passengers under pressure from four male ultra-Orthodox travelers who refused to sit next to women.
In 2016, a similar case of discrimination was filed against the Israeli flag carrier by a female passenger. Israel's Supreme Court ruled that asking passengers to move their seat based on gender is a form of discrimination.
The most recent incident occurred on a New York to Tel Aviv flight last week. The flight was delayed by more than an hour until the women were forced to move.
Chen Rotem, a passenger on the flight, took to Facebook writing that the crew tried to reason with the men, but as they were also women, the four haredi men would not speak to them.
"The crew tried to resolve the issue but they [the haredi men] wouldn't even look at them, let alone speak to them," he wrote.
"All the men in the crew, except for the captain, are now dealing exclusively with this issue instead of preparing for takeoff. One of the crew members told them, 'If you don't sit down, you can get off the plane right now,' but they didn't even blink.
"After a lot of yelling and maneuvering an elderly American woman and a young Israeli woman agreed to switch seats, allowing the flight to finally take off," he wrote.
One of the men was "particularly devout – he boarded the plane with his eyes closed tightly, led by his friend, and stayed that way the entire flight," Rotem said, adding that other Orthodox men on the flight expressed "shock and revulsion" at the haredim's conduct.
The post went viral, sparking calls for a class action suit against El Al, as well as a consumer boycott.
El Al apologized for the incident but said the plane was not held up as long as reported.
"The flight left 18 minutes late and not as claimed in the [Facebook] post," said Anat Friedman, a spokeswoman for El Al.
El Al added in a statement, "Any discrimination by passengers is strictly prohibited. El Al crew members spare no effort to provide good and courteous service to a wide range of passengers and to try to assist them, in order to take off on time and to bring passengers to their destination with the utmost security and comfort."
IThe Israel Religious Action Center, a progressive group that led last year's lawsuit, accused the airline of breaking its commitments and said the female passengers who were forced to move can sue the airline.
