Mehadrin Flying
According to the Jerusalem Post, El Al is in talks with “representatives of the haredi community” about the establishment of mehadrin flights, with gender-segregated seating, strictly Glatt kosher food, and no secular in-flight movies.
While no final decision has yet been made, Rabbi Yitzhak Goldknopf, of the Council for the Sanctity of the Shabbat and one of the main haredi negotiators, is optimistic, saying the meeting with El Al had been “very positive.”
Interestingly, in 2006 the same Jerusalem Post reporter covered a story about haredim in Israel establishing an entire mehadrin airline. Which makes the current news sound a little bit like the mehadrin recession special.
Can’t these people find something better to do with their time? How about stopping the beating of people who don’t dress like you? Although on the flip side, I remember once being pressured to change my seat on an El Al flight so that the guy sitting next to me would not have to sit next to a girl the entire flight. So perhaps getting these people their own planes and having them leave us alone is a good thing?
Gender-segregated seating, so the planes can be like haredi buses.
Well, if this goes through, looks like I’ll be looking to fly other airlines when I visit the Holy Land.
just pointing out that:
1. the article from 06′ was part of a campaign to start a charedi airlie due to el-al flying on shabbat. after el-al caved in to most of their demands the idea was officially dropped, and the charedi airline was never founded.
2. we arent talking about regular flights – these are 4 specific planes chartered by the charedi community for flights around pessach.
i dont like the idea of gender-segregated flights any more than you do, but please try to stick to the facts instead of just setting up charedi-bashing…
Honestly, I don’t understand why this such an issue. If anything, this highlights the fact that Haredi elites understand that the khiloni population is as intolerant of observance as they haredim are of non-observance. This is just another indication that Haredim have the numbers and economic clout to further isolate themselves from the rest of the nation. What we fail to see, I think, is that this is not a testament to their craziness as much as it is a testament to their vitality, and in many ways, their right to create a world cut off from everything.
Eli,
In terms of what’s going on in the world–you’re right; this is small potatoes. But it is news. And, as you point out, it is proof of haredi vitality and bargaining power. I don’t see the widespread intolerance of haredi life that you do, and I believe that if such a step forward is legal, then so be it. But since El Al caters to the public at large, I think it’s important for people to know. I don’t think it’s hateful call attention to such an action, since we’re all equally entitled to make consumer choices based on things just like this.