Haredi Gaming the System

Heredi men flying on El Al from the United States to Israel seem frequently to bring things to a halt rather than sit in their assigned seat if a woman is sitting next to them, or to wait until the plane takes off to cause problems, like standing in the aisle until they were reseated. (And this doesn’t include the problem, also reported, of their blocking the aisles to pray.) In the latest incident to make the news, El Al accommodated them.

A pluralistic society should provide the greatest possible freedom for people to act upon their religious beliefs, however different from the majority’s they are, but in this case the men had booked the tickets knowing the rules and then used their power, the power to mess up the flight and the plans of a couple hundred people, to get their way. El Al should have called the police, had them board the plane, arrest the men, and take them away. They weren’t just criminals, they were bullies.

They could, for one thing, have bought seats together. Single men could have gotten together to buy blocks of seats. They could easily have arranged things for themselves. You don’t get to make a deal and then renege on it when you have the power to do so. The right to expect others to respect the counter-cultural aspects of your religion does not allow you to game the system.

An internet petition has been launched suggesting that the airline set aside sections for men and women haredi, which seems sensible. It’s a pluralistic solution that leaves everyone happy. Though some trouble-making activist who does not respect difference, though he will undoubtedly use the term a lot, along with “the other” and “diversity,” will file suit claiming that doing so is “gender discrimination.” The question of how letting men and women who want to sit separately do so is discriminatory will not be asked, because there is no good answer.  Accomodating difference when doing so hurts no one is not discrimination, but kindness.