THE NY/NJ PORT AUTHORITY banned an advertisement a Reform organization wanted to post in the El Al section of the Newark terminal.
The ad’s rejection was due to the Port Authority rule banning most ads. The details were written in an Israel National News article headlined Ad against modesty 'seats switching' barred from NJ airport.
I consider myself an observant Jew. I don’t label other Jews as conservative, orthodox, reform, or any other yoni-come-lately qualifier. To me, a Jew either is (a) more observant that me, (b) observant at my level, or (c) less observant than me. (Yes, in this case, it IS “all about me.”) A Jew is a Jew is a Jew.
In this case, I agree with the advertisers.
I also agree that passengers’ preferences should be honored whenever possible.
That means haridi men traveling alone should be clear when making a reservation that they want to sit next to a man. The airlines should make an effort to honor that request. It won’t always be possible, but an honest effort by all concerned will go a long way to keeping everyone in their place.
AT THE SAME TIME, I blame the haridi men for failing to control themselves.
They can’t hear a woman’s singing voice for fear it will arouse their sexual desires. They can’t sit next to a woman on a public conveyance for the same reason.
A guy who sat next to me where I used to make minyan turned around to the women’s section – separated by a 1/2 –height opaque curtain topped by a ½-height gauze curtain so the women, when standing, could see the Torah being carried to/from the Ark and watch as their husbands, brothers, and sons had aliyot – and said to me the barrier should be opaque top-to-bottom.
My reply: Don’t turn around.
This particular person, an obvious ba’al t’shuva, was doing what he thought was expected of him by his equally “noveau frum” peers, blaming someone else for HIS lack of self-control. A pendulum swinging from one end of the arc to the other.
I don’t object to black hats wanting to sit with other black hats; they will have something in common to discuss/debate over long flights. But if they are “stuck” with a female passenger beside them – assuming the woman was dressed for travel rather than a nudist beach – let them read tehillim for understanding rather than speed reading. Let them read (or write) commentaries on a Torah portion. In other words, let them busy themselves with things other than the woman next to them.
The airline reservations could include a line in the seat preference section:
Aisle or Window
Will accept opposite sex passenger in adjacent seat (Yes/No)
I don’t know what to do about “in progress” transsexuals or cross-dressers.
Alternatively, in the pre-flight waiting area, single haridim could seek out others of their ilk, check seat assignments, then approach an airline representative to try and arrange seating before boarding the plane. That might be acceptable to even the most extreme feminist.
Perhaps there needs to be a well-advertised haridi travel agency that could book blocks of seats for single men. (Funny, I’ve never heard of a haridi woman asking a male to change seats so another female could sit beside her. Likewise, I’ve never heard that haridi women should not hear a man singing; I guess hairs women can control themselves better than their men.)
