An Israeli court has ruled that the airline El Al (El al) to transplant the passengers at the request of Orthodox Jews, which religion prohibits to be close to women other than their wives.
The Jerusalem magistrate court ruled that such requests violate the laws of discrimination. Although the airline claimed that they never forced the passengers to change seats upon the request of the Orthodox, reports the BBC.
The reason for the trial was the claim to the airline’s 83-year-old Renee Rabinowitz because of such an incident on Board the El Al plane during a flight from new York to tel Aviv. Holocaust survivors R. Rabinovich took his seat in business class. Soon came the man who bought the ticket at a nearby place. Seeing the woman, he said a few words to the flight attendant, after which he asked Rabinowitz to change.
“I asked the flight attendant right: transplanted me at the request of the man sitting next to me? And the flight attendant confirmed it. Then I approached the man and said, I am a 81-year-old woman, what’s the problem?” – said R. Rabinovich British newspaper the Guardian in April last year.
The man, according to her, said that to sit beside the woman he denies the Torah. Rabinowitz later said that did not want to join him in an argument, so I agreed to change seat.
When the plane landed in tel Aviv, the cabin came the captain of the crew. R. Rabinovich told him about the incident, and that, according to her, said that transplant women in such cases – the policy of the company.
In 2016 Rabinovich filed a lawsuit against the airline, accusing it of discrimination. Its interests were represented in court by the Israel religious action center, who is struggling with sexual segregation.
The amount of the claim amounted to 50 thousand shekels (about $14 million). Compensation, appointed by the court, was less than 6.5 thousand shekels (about $1.8 million).
Itself R. Rabinovich, commenting on the decision of the court, said he was satisfied and the amount of compensation, and the decision, as it cancels discriminatory policy El Al.
