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‘Sit down, pay extra to upgrade to business class, or get off the plane.’

Music to UD‘s ears: An ultraorthodox man demands that a woman sitting next to him on an El Al flight move because he refuses to sit next to women. Instead of letting him rant on and eventually force the woman to move, the flight director tells him what it says in UD‘s headline: Fuck off.

As long as Israel’s courts remain real courts (not guaranteed!), her heroine, Anat Hoffman, who with her organization brought the suit that forced gender equality on El Al, will keep winning virtually every case she brings, just the way she won this one.

Hoffman was on this particular plane; she witnessed the exchange.

I was proud to hear the flight director use the exact wording as promised by El Al in court. It was as if she were reading from the verdict itself, stating in no uncertain terms that the in-flight staff would not ask the woman to change her seat. If the staff had acted differently, and if they had, in any way, asked the female passenger to change her seat ‘for everyone’s benefit,’ I would have encouraged her to sue El Al. That passenger did not know it, but she had all of IRAC—a powerful ally—standing behind her.

Before the flight director finally issued an ultimatum to this man, other people on the plane began to pressure the woman to move, practically bringing her to tears. But, as UD‘s beloved Christopher Hitchens used to say, “Enough with clerical and religious bullying and intimidation.”

Margaret Soltan, August 5, 2019 4:26PM
Posted in: democracy, heroines

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2 Responses to “‘Sit down, pay extra to upgrade to business class, or get off the plane.’”

  1. charlie Says:
    August 7th, 2019 at 10:47AM

    Out of curiosity, is the Ultra Orthodox sect growing or diminishing? I know they have a lot of kids, nevertheless, what would be the appeal of signing up to become a god damn nut job??

  2. Margaret Soltan Says:
    August 7th, 2019 at 11:45AM

    charlie: Growing like crazy. As to why anyone – especially women – would be attracted to their dreadful way of life — I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Never underestimate human masochism.

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