Shame on my fellow Jews for holding up commercial flights by refusing to sit next to women!

I’m Jewish, and please allow me to say that it’s absurd that some Jewish men have caused commercial flights to be delayed by refusing to sit next to female passengers.

In September 2014, the New York Post reported:

Ultra-Orthodox Jews refuse to sit next to women, delay flight

Hundreds of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men refused to sit next to women on an El Al jet from New York to Israel — and spent the 11-hour flight trying to bribe people to switch seats and loudly praying in the aisles when they refused.

“It was an 11-hour long nightmare,” one of the passengers told Israel’s ynet news Web site after the Wednesday morning flight landed.

The flight – on the eve of Rosh Hashanah – was not only delayed, but degenerated into chaos once in the air, passengers said.

“Although everyone had tickets with seat numbers that they purchased in advance, they asked us to trade seats with them, and even offered to pay money, since they cannot sit next to a woman. It was obvious that the plane won’t take off as long as they keep standing in the aisles,” said passenger Amit Ben-Natan, a passenger.

In December 2014, the Daily Mail reported:

Delta Airlines flight from New York’s JFK Airport delayed after ultra-Orthodox Jewish passengers refuse to sit next to women

A Delta Airlines flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Israel was delayed by half an hour when a group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men refused to sit next to female passengers.

Delta Flight 468, bound for Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, was reportedly held up due to several Haredi passengers refusing to to sit in their assigned seats, which were in between two women.

The behavior by these so-called “men,” and the disrespect that they showed to women in a public setting, is inexcusable.

Yes, when you’re at your synagogue, or in other areas where everyone agrees with and is accepting of your religious views, it’s OK not to sit next to women.

But when you are in a public accommodation, where not everyone shares your religious point of view, you have no right to force your religious beliefs on to other people. It is up to you, not other people, to be the flexible one. It is your responsibility, not that of other people, to adapt your behavior .

And if you don’t like the rules on the airplane, then don’t buy a ticket.

Or, buy an entire row of tickets.

But don’t force other people to alter their behavior to accommodate your religious beliefs.